Compact home assistant having touch sensitive housing

ABSTRACT

Techniques and apparatuses are described that implement touch sensors and electronic devices including touch sensors. In some implementations, the touch sensor includes a sensing portion and a contact portion extending from the sensing portion. While the sensing portion is configured to be placed in proximity to an interior surface of a housing of an electronic device to detect a touch on the housing, the contact portion is bent to electrically couple the sensing portion to a circuit board via two distinct electrical paths.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/898,252, filed Jun. 10, 2020, titled “Compact Home Assistant HavingTouch Sensitive Housing,” which claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/878,269, filed Jul. 24, 2019, titled “CompactHome Assistant Having Touch Sensitive Housing and Controlled SoundPath,” the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/898,262, filed Jun. 10, 2020, titled “Compact Home Assistant Having aControlled Sound Path,” which is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/285,061, filed Feb. 25, 2019, entitled “Compact Speaker Device” andU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/840,844, filed Dec. 13, 2017,entitled “Design for Compact Home Assistant with Combined AcousticWaveguide and Heat Sink,” which claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/441,144, titled “Design for Compact HomeAssistant with Combined Acoustic Waveguide and Heat Sink,” filed on Dec.30, 2016. Each of the aforementioned applications is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates generally to computer technology, including butnot limited to methods and systems for providing a voice activatedelectronic device that is used as a user interface in a smart home ormedia environment and has a touch sensitive housing and/or a controlledsound path accessible to a microphone.

BACKGROUND

Electronic devices integrated with microphones have been widely used tocollect voice inputs from users and implement different voice-activatedfunctions according to the voice inputs. In many operating environmentsit is more desirable and convenient (or even necessary) for a user toreceive audible responses to their voice inputs instead of visualinformation shown on a display. This can be the case when an electronicdevice that is providing user assistance does not have a display screen(as is the case with the Google Home voice-activated speaker, which ispowered by the Google Assistant) or when a user is not able to interactwith a display screen (as is the case in many home environments, where auser is interacting with a voice-activated assistant device that is notnearby or where a user is focused on a particular task). For suchoperating environments, the electronic device is oftentimes providedwith a speaker system that generates sound of sufficient clarity andvolume to provide effective audible responses to user requests forassistance. Depending on the home/operating environment in which suchelectronic assistant devices are deployed, the assistant devices canalso be designed with different appearances and/or form factors.

Particularly, it is helpful to calibrate available user interfaces of anelectronic device to allow them to perform reliably and to providesupplemental user interface functions in addition to the microphones,the speaker system or simple light emitting diode (LED) indicators.These challenges are heightened when it is desired that the electronicdevice possess a relatively simple and compact form factor and can bemade at a low cost. Thus, there is a need for compact designs forelectronic voice-assistant devices that has multiple user interfaceoptions calibrated for reliable performance.

SUMMARY

Voice-activated electronic devices provide in a small form factor voiceassistant capabilities that enable users to perform a range ofactivities through natural language voice commands, including one ormore of: controlling local and remote electronic devices, issuingrequests for services and information to remote servers, and/or sendingmedia information to other electronic devices for consumption by theuser or other users. In some implementations, voice-activated electronicdevices include visual indicators, such as one or more full-color LEDsthat are used to indicate the status of voice processing associated witha spoken user request. In some implementations, voice-activatedelectronic devices include one or more speakers that can be used torelay audible information to a user to provide an answer to a userrequest (such a search query or a request for a basketball score),provide a spoken status of a voice processing operation, play a musicalselection, and/or read digest of current news or the current weatherforecast. Given that voice inputs are convenient for users, someimplementations allow a user to use voice inputs to control otherelectronic devices accessible to the user in addition to requestingInternet-based services and functions from remote servers and mobiledevices.

Implementations of electronic devices are described herein that providean eyes-free and hands-free voice interface to enable users to activatevoice-activated functions on associated media player devices, issueinformation requests to remote servers, consume audible information ormedia, and/or control smart home or smart media devices coupled withinthe voice-activated electronic devices in a smart media or smart homeenvironment. In various implementations described herein, a smart mediaenvironment includes one or more voice-activated electronic devices andmultiple media display devices each disposed at a distinct location. Insome implementations, these devices are coupled to a cast device (e.g.,a set top box, a Google Chromecast™ device or a smart TV). These devicescan be directed via voice requests issued to a voice-activatedelectronic device to play media items identified verbally by a user.These network-connected and voice-activated electronic devices arenormally placed on surfaces at different locations of the smart homeenvironment. As such, in some implementations, electronic voiceassistant devices are configured to have a form factor and appearancethat matches the overall smart home environment and/or can be integratedwith multiple compatible surfaces and devices throughout theenvironment.

It is desirable to provide supplemental user interface functions to avoice-activated electronic device in addition to the microphones, thespeaker system or simple LED indicators. Accordingly, in one aspect ofthe application, an electronic device is provided with one or more touchsensors. Specifically, the electronic device includes a housing, aprinted circuit board (PCB) and the one or more touch sensors coupledbetween the housing and the PCB. The housing has an interior surface, anexterior surface opposing the interior surface, and one or more bossstructures coupled on the interior surface. The PCB has a first surfaceand one or more receiving holes. The first surface faces the interiorsurface of the housing and includes a conductive area surrounding eachreceiving hole. Each touch sensor includes a sensing portion and acontact portion extending from the sensing portion. In each touchsensor, the sensing portion is placed in proximity to the interiorsurface of the housing, and is configured to detect a touch on acorresponding area of the exterior surface of the housing. The contactportion includes an opening aligned with a receiving hole of the PCB anda boss structure of the housing. The contact portion further includes acontact ring in which the opening is defined and a spring fingerphysically separated from the contact ring. Both the contact ring andthe spring finger are configured to electrically contact the conductivearea on the PCB. In some implementations, each touch sensor includes acapacitive sensing component.

In some implementations, the sensing portion of each touch sensor isplaced in proximity to the interior surface of the housing, when adistance between a surface of the sensing portion and the interiorsurface of the housing is not greater than a predetermined distancethreshold.

In some implementations, for a first touch sensor, the spring fingerextends beyond a plane of the contact ring and towards the PCB, and atip area of the spring finger is configured to be controlled by astiffness of the spring finger to contact the conductive area of the PCBwhen the contact ring is electrically coupled to the conductive area ofthe PCB by a fastener coupled to the boss structure of the housing.Further, in some implementations, the tip area of the spring finger isconfigured to be controlled by the stiffness of the spring finger tocontact the conductive area of the PCB when the fastener is loosenedfrom the boss structure of the housing to cause the contact ring to beelectrically decoupled from the conductive area of the PCB.

In some implementations, the sensing portion and contact portion of eachtouch sensor are made from a single sheet of conductive material andconnected to each other at an intersection area. Further, in someimplementations, the contact portion further includes an arm thatconnects the intersection area to the contact ring. The arm merges withthe spring finger at the intersection area, and has a first stiffnessand a first bending curvature with respect to the sensing portion. Thefirst stiffness is distinct from a second stiffness of the springfinger, and the first bending curvature is distinct from a secondbending curvature of the spring finger. Further, in someimplementations, the second stiffness and second bending curvature ofthe spring finger are configured to create a force in a target forcerange when the contact portion is electrically coupled to thecorresponding conductive area on the PCB via the contact ring and a tiparea of the spring finger. In some situations, the spring finger isphysically modified to result in the second stiffness of the springfinger.

In some implementations, the one or more touch sensors includes a firsttouch sensor configured to bridge the housing and the PCB, and thecontact portion of the first touch sensor is mechanically bent from thesensing portion of the first touch sensor that is placed in proximity tothe interior surface of the housing to reach the correspondingconductive area of the PCB.

In some implementations, for each touch sensor, a shank of thecorresponding boss structure of the housing is configured to fit in boththe opening of the touch sensor and the receiving hole of the PCB andmate to a fastener to couple the touch sensor between the housing andthe PCB. Further, in some implementations, the receiving hole of the PCBis configured to have a diameter less than a diameter of a head of thefastener and greater than an outer diameter of the shank of the bossstructure of the housing.

In some implementations, one of the receiving holes of the PCB has afirst diameter for a first portion of a thickness of the PCB and asecond diameter for a second portion of the thickness of the PCB. Thefirst diameter is less than a diameter of a head of a fastener. Adiameter of the boss structure of the housing is greater than the firstdiameter and less than the second diameter of the one of the receivingholes. When the fastener is fastened to the boss structure, the bossstructure sits in the one of the receiving holes of the PCB and does notrise out of the one of the receiving holes.

In some implementations, the one or more touch sensors include threetouch sensors that are disposed in proximity to a top area and twoopposing peripheral (e.g., off-center) area of the housing,respectively.

In some implementations, the one or more touch sensors include acapacitive electrode that forms a capacitive touch sensor with a groundof the electronic device. The PCB includes a capacitive sense circuitthat is electrically coupled to the capacitive electrode via thecorresponding conductive area of the PCB. The capacitive sense circuitis configured to measure a capacitive sense signal of the capacitivetouch sensor and determine a touch on the corresponding area of theexterior surface of the housing based on the measured capacitive sensesignal.

In some implementations, the one or more touch sensors include a touchsensing electrode, and the sensing portion of the touch sensingelectrode includes a cutout opening aligned with a light emitting diode(LED) mounted on the PCB. A light guide is disposed in the cutoutopening, and is configured to receive light emitted by the LED andprovide illumination via an LED opening on the housing to indicate acorresponding location on the exterior surface of the housing where thetouch sensing electrode is located. Alternatively, in someimplementations, the one or more touch sensors includes a touch sensingelectrode. A light guide is disposed in proximity to the touch sensingelectrode, and is configured to receive light emitted by a LED mountedon the PCB and provide illumination via an LED opening on the housing toindicate a corresponding location on the exterior surface of the housingto which the touch sensing electrode is adjacent.

In some implementations, the one or more touch sensors includes a touchsensing electrode, and the sensing portion of the touch sensingelectrode includes a cutout opening aligned with one or more LEDsmounted on the PCB. One or more light guides are disposed in the cutoutopening, and are configured to receive light emitted by the LEDs andprovide illumination via LED openings on the housing to indicate astatus of the electronic device according to a visual specification.

In some implementations, for each touch sensor, one or more of theconductive area on the PCB, the contact ring and a tip area of thespring finger are coated with a conductive material having a resistivitylower than a resistivity threshold to improve contact of the conductivearea on the PCB with the contact ring or the tip area of the springfinger.

Further, it is helpful to calibrate available user interfaces of avoice-activated electronic device to allow them to perform reliably. Inanother aspect of the application, an electronic device is provided witha controlled sound path to a microphone that is concealed within anacoustically porous cover. The electronic device includes a housinghaving an exterior surface and an aperture, a microphone enclosed in thehousing and having a diaphragm, and an acoustically porous cover atleast partially covering the exterior surface of the housing. Thediaphragm of the microphone faces the aperture and is configured toreceive sound via the aperture. The acoustically porous cover concealsthe aperture of the housing. The exterior surface of the housingincludes a sealing area surrounding but not including the aperture, andthe acoustically porous cover is affixed to the sealing area of theexterior surface via an adhesive. The adhesive covers the sealing areaof the exterior and permeates a thickness of the acoustically porouscover above the sealing area, thereby enabling formation of thecontrolled sound path to the microphone by coupling of a microphonetesting fixture to a region of the acoustically porous covercorresponding to the sealing area. In some implementations, the sealingarea includes a circular ring area.

In some implementations, the aperture of the housing includes a firstaperture. The electronic device further includes a PCB that is enclosedin the housing and has a first surface facing an interior surface of thehousing, a second surface opposing the first surface, and a secondaperture aligned with the first aperture of the housing. The microphoneis coupled to the second surface of the PCB, and the diaphragm of themicrophone faces the second aperture of the PCB directly and isconfigured to receive sound via the second aperture of the PCB. A soundcontrol structure is coupled to the interior surface of the housing andthe first surface of the PCB, and forms a sound channel connecting thefirst aperture of the housing and the second aperture of the PCB andextending to the controlled sound path that passes across theacoustically porous cover. Further, in some implementations, the soundcontrol structure includes a hollow cylinder that is concentric with thesealing area on the exterior surface of the housing and the controlledsound path that passes across the acoustically porous cover.

Alternatively, in some implementations, the aperture of the housingincludes a first aperture. The electronic device further includes asound control structure coupled to the interior surface of the housingand the microphone. The sound control structure forms a sound channelconnecting the first aperture of the housing and the microphone andextending to the controlled sound path that passes across theacoustically porous cover. Further, in some implementations, a PCB isenclosed in the housing and has a first surface facing an interiorsurface of the housing. The microphone is mounted on the first surfaceof the PCB, and the diaphragm of the microphone faces the first apertureof the housing directly.

In some implementations, the acoustically porous cover is flexible andsubstantially transparent to audible sound.

In some implementations, the controlled sound path in the acousticallyporous cover is configured to match a dimension of the microphonetesting fixture and guide sound generated by the microphone towards themicrophone testing fixture. When the microphone testing fixture iscoupled to the controlled sound path, a portion of sound generated bythe microphone testing fixture is collected by the microphone. Theportion of sound is greater than a predetermined portion of the soundgenerated by the microphone testing fixture.

In some implementations, the adhesive is not visible from an exteriorsurface of the acoustically porous cover, so that the electronic devicekeeps a clean look.

In some implementations, the adhesive is configured to be applied on thesealing area of the housing and covered by the acoustically porouscover, and the adhesive permeates the thickness of the acousticallyporous cover and is hardened in response to heat treatment under apredetermined condition.

In some implementations, the adhesive permeates at least a predeterminedportion of an entire thickness of the acoustically porous cover, and themicrophone testing fixture is configured to be pressed onto the regionof the acoustically porous cover to compress microcavities in part ofthe entire thickness of the acoustically porous cover that is notpermeated with the adhesive, thereby enabling formation of thecontrolled sound path of the microphone.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the various described implementations,reference should be made to the Description of Implementations below, inconjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numeralsrefer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example operating environment of one or morevoice-activated electronic devices in accordance with someimplementations.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example voice-activatedelectronic device that is applied as a voice interface to collect uservoice commands in an operating environment in accordance with someimplementations.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a front view and a rear view of an examplevoice-activated electronic device in accordance with someimplementations, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of an example voice-activatedelectronic device showing a dual purpose waveguide/heatsink and aspeaker assembly in accordance with some implementations.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of an example voice-activated electronicdevice in accordance with some implementations.

FIG. 6 illustrates an upper interior surface of an examplevoice-activated electronic device in accordance with someimplementations.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate an example touch sensor disposed in proximityto an upper interior surface of a voice-activated electronic device inaccordance with some implementations. FIG. 7C is an enlarged view of acontact portion of an example touch sensor in accordance with someimplementations.

FIGS. 7D-1 and 7D-2 are example cross sections of a voice-activatedelectronic device including a touch sensor in accordance with someimplementations.

FIG. 7E is another example cross sections of a voice-activatedelectronic device including a touch sensor in accordance with someimplementations.

FIG. 7F illustrates an example PCB having a receiving hole and aconductive area in accordance with some implementations.

FIG. 7G is an example stress distribution diagram of an example touchsensor that is assembled in a voice-activated electronic device shown inFIGS. 7D-1 and 7E in accordance with some implementations.

FIG. 8A illustrates another example touch sensor disposed in proximityto an upper interior surface of a voice-activated electronic device inaccordance with some implementations. FIG. 8B is a cross sectional viewof a voice-activated electronic device including a touch sensor shown inFIG. 8A in accordance with some implementations. FIG. 8C is an examplestress distribution diagram of an example touch sensor that is assembledin a voice-activated electronic device shown in FIG. 8B in accordancewith some implementations.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are a cross sectional view and a top view of a region ofa voice-activated electronic device in which a microphone is disposed inaccordance with some implementations, respectively.

FIGS. 10A-10C are enlarged cross sectional views of example microphoneaperture areas of a voice-activated electronic device in accordance withsome implementations.

Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF IMPLEMENTATIONS

Electronic devices are conveniently used as voice interfaces to receivevoice inputs from users and initiate voice-activated functions, andthereby offer eyes-free and hands-free solutions for enabling simple andproductive user interaction with both existing and emerging technology.Specifically, the voice inputs received at an electronic device withvoice activated features can carry instructions and information even ifa user's line of sight is obscured and his or her hands are full. Toenable a hands-free and eyes-free experience, a voice-activatedelectronic device in accordance with the present invention “listens” tothe ambient (i.e., constantly processes audio signals collected from theambient) constantly or only when triggered to do so (e.g., via userutterance of a “hot word” to trigger operation of the electronicdevice”). On the other hand, user identities are linked with a user'svoice and a language used by the user. To protect the user identities,these voice-activated electronic devices are normally used in non-publicplaces that are protected, controlled and intimate spaces (e.g., homeand car).

In accordance with various implementations of this application, anetwork-connected and voice-activated electronic device is a compactdevice that includes one or more microphones, one or more speakers and aplurality of electronic components, including one or more of:microprocessors, memory, support chips, wireless receivers andtransmitters, antennas, power supply circuitry, one or more cameras,power and/or data connectors, etc., some of which are mounted on one ormore printed circuit boards. In some implementations, the microphonesand corresponding apertures are enclosed in a housing of the electronicdevice and concealed under an acoustically porous cover of theelectronic device. The microphones must be calibrated with a microphonetesting fixture to verify audio performances of the microphones (e.g., asound leakage level at a microphone, an attenuation between an openstate and a sealed state of a microphone), thereby guaranteeing that themicrophones can reliably detect hot words in a smart home environment.An exterior surface of the housing includes a sealing area surroundingbut not including each microphone aperture, and the acoustically porouscover is affixed to the sealing area of the exterior surface via anadhesive. The adhesive covers the sealing area on the exterior surfaceof the housing and permeates a thickness of the acoustically porouscover above the sealing area, thereby enabling formation of a controlledsound path to the microphone by coupling of the microphone testingfixture to a region of the acoustically porous cover corresponding tothe sealing area.

In some implementations, a network-connected and voice-activatedelectronic device is capable of detecting touch events occurring on itsexterior surface (particularly, on one or more selected areas on theexterior surface). The electronic device includes one or more touchsensors disposed inside the housing and in proximity to an interiorsurface of the housing corresponding to the selected areas of theexterior surface where the touch events are detected. Each touch sensorincludes a sensing portion placed in proximity to the interior surfaceof the housing, and a contact portion extending from the sensing portionto a PCB where a plurality of electronic components (including a touchsensing circuit) are mounted. To enhance its electrical contact with thePCB, the contact portion relies on both a contact ring and a springfinger that are physically separate from each other to form electricalcontacts with the PCB. Specifically, the contact portion includes anopening that is defined by the contact ring and is aligned with areceiving hole of the PCB and a boss structure of the housing. While thecontact ring is electrically coupled to a conductive area of the PCBsurrounding the receiving hole, the spring finger also comes intocontact with the conductive area of the PCB under the influence of amechanical stiffness provided by its own mechanical structure. Undersome circumstances, the contact ring of the contact portion is slightlydetached from the conductive area, thereby compromising the quality ofits electrical contact with the conductive area of the PCB. Themechanical stiffness provided by the mechanical structure of the springfinger can continue to hold the spring finger down onto the contact areaof the PCB and provide a low resistance electrical path to access thePCB.

Reference will now be made in detail to implementations, examples ofwhich are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the followingdetailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in orderto provide a thorough understanding of the various describedimplementations. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skillin the art that the various described implementations may be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods,procedures, components, circuits, and networks have not been describedin detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of theimplementations.

Voice Assistant Operating Environment

FIG. 1 is an example operating environment 100 in accordance with someimplementations. Operating environment 100 includes one or morevoice-activated electronic devices 104 (e.g., voice-activated electronicdevices 104-1 thru 104-N, hereinafter “voice-activated device(s)”). Theone or more voice-activated devices 104 may be located in one or morelocations (e.g., all in a room or space of a structure, spread outthroughout multiple spaces within a structure or throughout multiplestructures (e.g., one in a house and one in the user's car)).

The environment 100 also includes one or more controllable electronicdevices 106 (e.g., electronic device 106-1 thru 106-N, hereinafter“controllable device(s)”). Examples of controllable devices 106 includemedia devices (smart televisions, speaker systems, wireless speakers,set-top boxes, media streaming devices, cast devices), and smart homedevices (e.g., smart camera, smart thermostat, smart light, smart hazarddetector, smart door lock).

The voice-activated devices 104 and the controllable devices 106 arecommunicatively coupled, through communication networks 110, to a voiceassistant service 140 (e.g., to a voice assistance server system 112 ofthe voice assistant service 140). In some implementations, one or moreof the voice-activated devices 104 and the controllable devices 106 arecommunicatively coupled to a local network 108, which is communicativelycoupled to the communication networks 110; the voice-activated device(s)104 and/or the controllable device(s) 106 are communicatively coupled tocommunication network(s) 110 (and, through the communication networks110, to the voice assistance server system 112) via the local network108. In some implementations, the local network 108 is a local areanetwork implemented at a network interface (e.g., a router). Thevoice-activated devices 104 and the controllable devices 106 that arecommunicatively coupled to the local network 108 may also communicatewith each other through the local network 108.

Optionally, one or more of the voice-activated devices 104 arecommunicatively coupled to the communication networks 110 and are not onthe local network 108. For example, these voice-activated devices arenot on the Wi-Fi network corresponding to the local network 108 but areconnected to the communication networks 110 through a cellularconnection. In some implementations, communication betweenvoice-activated devices 104 that are on the local network 108 andvoice-activated devices 104 that are not on the local network 108 aredone through the voice assistance server system 112. The voice-activateddevices 104 (whether on the local network 108 or on the network 110) areregistered in a device registry 118 of the voice assistant service 140and thus known to the voice assistance server system 112. Similarly, thevoice-activated devices 104 that are not on the local network 108 maycommunicate with controllable devices 106 through the voice assistantserver system 112. The controllable devices 106 (whether on the localnetwork 108 or on the network 110) are also registered in the deviceregistry 118. In some implementations, communications between thevoice-activated devices 104 and the controllable devices 106 go throughthe voice assistance server system 112.

In some implementations, the environment 100 also includes one or morecontent hosts 114. A content host 114 may be a remote content sourcefrom which content is streamed or otherwise obtained in accordance witha request included in a user voice input or command A content host 114may be an information source from which the voice assistance serversystem 112 retrieves information in accordance with a user voicerequest.

In some implementations, controllable devices 106 are capable ofreceiving commands or requests to perform specified operations or totransition to specified states (e.g., from a voice-activated device 104and/or the voice assistance server system 112) and to perform theoperations or transition states in accordance with the received commandsor requests.

In some implementations, one or more of the controllable devices 106 aremedia devices that are disposed in the operating environment 100 toprovide to one or more users media content, news and/or otherinformation. In some implementations, the content provided by the mediadevices is stored at a local content source, streamed from a remotecontent source (e.g., content host(s) 114), or generated locally (e.g.,through a local text to voice processor that reads a customized newsbriefing, emails, texts, a local weather report, etc. to one or moreoccupants of the operating environment 100). In some implementations,the media devices include media output devices that directly output themedia content to an audience (e.g., one or more users), and cast devicesthat are networked to stream media content to the media output devices.Examples of the media output devices include, but are not limited totelevision (TV) display devices and music players. Examples of the castdevices include, but are not limited to, set-top boxes (STBs), DVDplayers, TV boxes, and media streaming devices, such as Google'sChromecast™ media streaming device.

In some implementations, a controllable device 106 is also avoice-activated device 104. In some implementations, a voice-activateddevice 104 is also a controllable device 106. For example, acontrollable device 106 may include a voice interface to the voiceassistance service 140 (e.g., a media device that can also receive,process, and respond to user voice inputs). As another example, avoice-activated device 104 may also perform particular operations andtransition to particular states in accordance with requests or commandsin voice inputs (e.g., a voice interface device that can also playstreaming music).

In some implementations, the voice-activated devices 104 and thecontrollable deices 106 are associated with a user having a respectiveaccount, or with multiple users (e.g., a group of related users, such asusers in a family or in an organization; more generally, a primary userand one or more authorized additional users) having respective useraccounts, in a user domain. A user may make voice inputs or voicecommands to the voice-activated device 104. The voice-activated device104 receives these voice inputs from the user (e.g., user 102), and thevoice-activated device 104 and/or the voice assistance server system 112proceeds to determine a request in the voice input and generate aresponse to the request.

In some implementations, the request included in a voice input is acommand or request to a controllable device 106 to perform an operation(e.g., play media, pause media, fast forward or rewind media, changevolume, change screen brightness, change light brightness) or transitionto another state (e.g., change the mode of operation, turn on or off, gointo sleep mode or wake from sleep mode).

In some implementations, a voice-activated electronic device 104responds to voice inputs by: generating and providing a spoken responseto a voice command (e.g., speaking the current time in response to thequestion, “what time is it?”); streaming media content requested by auser (e.g., “play a Beach Boys song”); reading a news story or a dailynews briefing prepared for the user; playing a media item stored on thepersonal assistant device or on the local network; changing a state oroperating one or more other connected devices within the operatingenvironment 100 (e.g., turning lights, appliances or media deviceson/off, locking/unlocking a lock, opening windows, etc.); or issuing acorresponding request to a server via a network 110.

In some implementations, the one or more voice-activated devices 104 aredisposed in the operating environment 100 to collect audio inputs forinitiating various functions (e.g., media play functions of the mediadevices). In some implementations, these voice-activated devices 104(e.g., devices 104-1 thru 104-N) are disposed in proximity to acontrollable device 104 (e.g., a media device), for example, in the sameroom with the cast devices and the media output devices. Alternatively,in some implementations, a voice-activated device 104 is disposed in astructure having one or more smart home devices but not any mediadevice. Alternatively, in some implementations, a voice-activated device104 is disposed in a structure having one or more smart home devices andone or more media devices. Alternatively, in some implementations, avoice-activated device 104 is disposed in a location having no networkedelectronic device. Further, in some implementations, a room or space inthe structure may have multiple voice-activated devices 104.

In some implementations, the voice-activated device 104 includes atleast one or more microphones, a speaker, a processor and memory storingat least one program for execution by the processor. The speaker isconfigured to allow the voice-activated device 104 to deliver voicemessages and other audio (e.g., audible tones) to a location where thevoice-activated device 104 is located in the operating environment 100,thereby broadcasting music, reporting a state of audio input processing,having a conversation with or giving instructions to a user of thevoice-activated device 104. As an alternative to the voice messages,visual signals could also be used to provide feedback to the user of thevoice-activated device 104 concerning the state of audio inputprocessing. When the voice-activated device 104 is a mobile device(e.g., a mobile phone or a tablet computer), its display screen isconfigured to display a notification concerning the state of audio inputprocessing.

In some implementations, the voice-activated device 104 is a voiceinterface device that is network-connected to provide voice recognitionfunctions with the aid of a voice assistance server system 112. Forexample, the voice-activated device 104 includes a smart speaker thatprovides music to a user and allows eyes-free and hands-free access to avoice assistant service (e.g., Google Assistant). Optionally, thevoice-activated device 104 is one of a desktop or laptop computer, atablet, a mobile phone that includes a microphone, a cast device thatincludes a microphone and optionally a speaker, an audio system (e.g., astereo system, a speaker system, a portable speaker) that includes amicrophone and a speaker, a television that includes a microphone and aspeaker, and a user interface system in an automobile that includes amicrophone and a speaker and optionally a display. Optionally, thevoice-activated device 104 is a simple and low cost voice interfacedevice. Generally, the voice-activated device 104 may be any device thatis capable of network connection and that includes a microphone, aspeaker, and programs, modules, and data for interacting with voiceassistant service. Given simplicity and low cost of the voice-activateddevice 104, the voice-activated device 104 includes an array of lightemitting diodes (LEDs) rather than a full display screen, and displays avisual pattern on the LEDs to indicate the state of audio inputprocessing. In some implementations, the LEDs are full color LEDs, andthe colors of the LEDs may be employed as a part of the visual patternto be displayed on the LEDs. Multiple examples of using LEDs to displayvisual patterns in order to convey information or device status aredescribed in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/336,566,entitled “LED Design Language for Visual Affordance of Voice UserInterfaces,” filed May 13, 2016, which is incorporated by reference inits entirety. In some implementations, visual patterns indicating thestate of voice processing operations are displayed using characteristicimages shown on conventional displays associated with voice-activateddevices that are performing the voice processing operations.

In some implementations, LEDs or other visual displays are used toconvey a collective voice processing state of multiple participatingelectronic devices. For example, in an operating environment where thereare multiple voice processing or voice interface devices (e.g., multipleelectronic devices 400 as shown in FIG. 4A of the '566 application;multiple voice-activated devices 104), groups of color LEDs (e.g., LEDs404 as shown in FIG. 4A of the '566 application) associated withrespective electronic devices can be used to convey which of theelectronic devices is listening to a user, and which of the listeningdevices is the leader (where the “leader” device generally takes thelead in responding to a spoken request issued by the user).

More generally, the '566 application describes (e.g., see paras.[0087]-[0100]) a “LED Design Language” for indicating visually using acollection of LEDs a variety of voice processing states of an electronicdevice, such as a “Hot word detection state and listening state,” a“Thinking mode or working mode,” and a “Responding mode or speakingmode.” In some implementations, unique states of voice processingoperations described herein are represented using a group of LEDs inaccordance with one or more aspects of the “LED Design Language” of the'566 application. These visual indicators can also be combined with oneor more audible indicators generated by electronic devices that areperforming voice processing operations. The resulting audio and/orvisual indicators will enable users in a voice-interactive environmentto understand the state of various voice processing electronic devicesin the environment and to effectively interact with those devices in anatural, intuitive manner.

In some implementations, when voice inputs to the voice-activated device104 are used to control the media output devices via the cast devices,the voice-activated device 104 effectively enables a new level ofcontrol of cast-enabled media devices. In a specific example, thevoice-activated device 104 includes a casual enjoyment speaker withfar-field voice access and functions as a voice interface device for thevoice assistant service. The voice-activated device 104 could bedisposed in any area in the operating environment 100. When multiplevoice-activated devices 104 are distributed in multiple rooms, theybecome cast audio receivers that are synchronized to provide voiceinputs from these rooms.

Specifically, in some implementations, the voice-activated device 104includes a Wi-Fi speaker with a microphone that is connected to avoice-activated voice assistant service (e.g., Google Assistant). A usercan issue a media play request via the microphone of voice-activateddevice 104, and ask the voice assistant service to play media content onthe voice-activated device 104 itself or on another connected mediaoutput device. For example, the user can issue a media play request bysaying to the Wi-Fi speaker “OK Google, play cat videos on my Livingroom TV.” The voice assistant service then fulfils the media playrequest by playing the requested media content on the requested deviceusing a default or designated media application.

In some implementations, a user can issue a voice request, via themicrophone of the voice-activated device 104, concerning media contentthat has already been played or is being played on a display device(e.g., the user can ask for information about the media content, buy themedia content through an online store, or compose and issue a socialpost about the media content).

In some implementations, a user may want to take a current media sessionwith them as they move through the house and can request such a servicefrom one or more of the voice-activated devices 104. This requires thevoice assistant service 140 to transfer the current media session from afirst cast device to a second cast device that is not directly connectedto the first cast device or has no knowledge of the existence of thefirst cast device. Subsequent to the media content transfer, a secondoutput device coupled to the second cast device continues to play themedia content previously a first output device coupled to the first castdevice from the exact point within a music track or a video clip whereplay of the media content was forgone on the first output device. Insome implementations, the voice-activated device 104 that receives therequest to transfer the media session can satisfy the request. In someimplementations, the voice-activated device 104 that receives therequest to transfer the media session relays the request to anotherdevice or system (e.g., voice assistance server system 112) forhandling.

Further, in some implementations, a user may issue, via the microphoneof voice-activated device 104, a request for information or forperformance of an action or operation. The information requested may bepersonal (e.g., the user's emails, the user's calendar events, theuser's flight information, etc.), non-personal (e.g., sports scores,news stories, etc.) or somewhere in between (e.g., scores for teams orsports preferred by the user, news stories from the user's preferredsources, etc.). The requested information or action/operation mayinvolve access to personal information (e.g., purchasing a digital mediaitem with payment information provided by the user, purchasing aphysical good). The voice-activated device 104 responds to the requestwith voice message responses to the user, where the response mayinclude, for example, requests for additional information to fulfill therequest, confirmation that the request has been fulfilled, notice thatthe request cannot be fulfilled, and so forth.

In some implementations, in addition to the voice-activated devices 104and the media devices amongst the controllable devices 106, theoperating environment 100 may also include one or more smart homedevices amongst the controllable devices 106. The integrated smart homedevices include intelligent, multi-sensing, network-connected devicesthat integrate seamlessly with each other in a smart home network and/orwith a central server or a cloud-computing system to provide a varietyof useful smart home functions. In some implementations, a smart homedevice is disposed at the same location of the operating environment 100as a cast device and/or an output device, and therefore, is located inproximity to or with a known distance with respect to the cast deviceand the output device.

The smart home devices in the operating environment 100 may include, butare not limited to, one or more intelligent, multi-sensing,network-connected thermostats, one or more intelligent,network-connected, multi-sensing hazard detectors, one or moreintelligent, multi-sensing, network-connected entryway interface devicesand (hereinafter referred to as “smart doorbells” and “smart doorlocks”), one or more intelligent, multi-sensing, network-connected alarmsystems, one or more intelligent, multi-sensing, network-connectedcamera systems, one or more intelligent, multi-sensing,network-connected wall switches, one or more intelligent, multi-sensing,network-connected power sockets, and one or more intelligent,multi-sensing, network-connected lights. In some implementations, thesmart home devices in the operating environment 100 of FIG. 1 includes aplurality of intelligent, multi-sensing, network-connected appliances(hereinafter referred to as “smart appliances”), such as refrigerators,stoves, ovens, televisions, washers, dryers, lights, stereos, intercomsystems, garage-door openers, floor fans, ceiling fans, wall airconditioners, pool heaters, irrigation systems, security systems, spaceheaters, window AC units, motorized duct vents, and so forth. In someimplementations, any one of these smart home device types can beoutfitted with microphones and one or more voice processing capabilitiesas described herein so as to in whole or in part respond to voicerequests from an occupant or user.

In some implementations, each of the controllable devices 104 and thevoice-activated devices 104 is capable of data communications andinformation sharing with other controllable devices 106, voice-activatedelectronic devices 104, a central server or cloud-computing system,and/or other devices (e.g., a client device) that are network-connected.Data communications may be carried out using any of a variety of customor standard wireless protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4, Wi-Fi, ZigBee,6LoWPAN, Thread, Z-Wave, Bluetooth Smart, ISA100.11a, WirelessHART,MiWi, etc.) and/or any of a variety of custom or standard wiredprotocols (e.g., Ethernet, HomePlug, etc.), or any other suitablecommunication protocol, including communication protocols not yetdeveloped as of the filing date of this document.

Through the communication networks 110 (e.g., the Internet), thecontrollable devices 106 and the voice-activated devices 104 maycommunicate with a server system (also called a central server systemand/or a cloud-computing system herein). Optionally, the server systemmay be associated with a manufacturer, support entity, or serviceprovider associated with the controllable devices and the media contentdisplayed to the user. Accordingly, the server system includes the voiceassistance server 112 that processes audio inputs collected byvoice-activated devices 104, one or more content hosts 114 that providethe displayed media content, optionally a cloud cast service servercreating a virtual user domain based on distributed device terminals,and the device registry 118 that keeps a record of the distributeddevice terminals in the virtual user environment. Examples of thedistributed device terminals include, but are not limited to thecontrollable devices 106, the voice-activated devices 104, and the mediaoutput devices. In some implementations, these distributed deviceterminals are linked to a user account (e.g., a Google user account) inthe virtual user domain. It should be appreciated that processing ofaudio inputs collected by voice-activated devices 104 can be performedlocally at a voice-activated device 104, at a voice assistance server112, at another smart home device (e.g., a hub device) or at somecombination of all or subset of the above.

It will be appreciated that in some implementations the voice-activateddevice(s) 104 also function in an environment without smart homedevices. For example, a voice-activated device 104 can, even in theabsence of smart home devices, respond to user requests for informationor performance of an action, and/or to initiate or control various mediaplay functions. A voice-activated device 104 can also function in a widerange of environments, including, without limitation, a vehicle, a ship,a business, or a manufacturing environment.

In some implementations, a voice-activated device 104 is “awakened”(e.g., to activate an interface for the voice assistant service on thevoice-activated device 104, to put the voice-activated device 104 into astate where the voice-activated device 104 is ready to receive voicerequests to the voice assistant service) by a voice input that includesa hotword (also called a “wake word”). In some implementations, thevoice-activated device 104 requires awakening if the voice-activateddevice 104 has been idle with respect to receipt of voice inputs for atleast a predefined amount of time (e.g., 5 minutes); the predefinedamount of time corresponds to an amount of idle time allowed before avoice interface session or conversation times out. The hotword may be aword or phrase, and may be a predefined default and/or may be customizedby a user (e.g., a user may set a nickname for a particularvoice-activated device 104 as the device's hotword). In someimplementations, there may be multiple hotwords that can awaken avoice-activated device 104. A user may speak the hotword, wait for anacknowledgement response from the voice-activated device 104 (e.g., thevoice-activated device 104 outputs a greeting), and them make a firstvoice request. Alternatively, the user may combine the hotword and thefirst voice request in one voice input (e.g., the voice input includesthe hotword followed by the voice request).

In some implementations, a voice-activated device 104 interacts with acontrollable device 106 (e.g., a media device, a smart home device), aclient device or a server system of an operating environment 100 inaccordance with some implementations. The voice-activated device 104 isconfigured to receive audio inputs from an environment in proximity tothe voice-activated device 104. Optionally, the voice-activated device104 stores the audio inputs and at least partially processes the audioinputs locally. Optionally, the voice-activated device 104 transmits thereceived audio inputs or the partially processed audio inputs to a voiceassistance server system 112 via the communication networks 110 forfurther processing. The voice-activated device 104 or the voiceassistance server system 112 determines if there is a request in theaudio input and what the request is, determines and generates a responseto the request, and transmits the request to one or more controllabledevice(s) 106. The controllable device(s) 106 receiving the response isconfigured to perform operations or change states in accordance with theresponse. For example, a media device is configured to obtain mediacontent or Internet content from one or more content hosts 114 fordisplay on an output device coupled to the media device, in accordancewith a response to a request in the audio input.

In some implementations, the controllable device(s) 106 and thevoice-activated device(s) 104 are linked to each other in a user domain,and more specifically, associated with each other via a user account inthe user domain. Information on the controllable device 106 (whether onthe local network 108 or on the network 110) and the voice-activateddevice 104 (whether on the local network 108 or on the network 110) arestored in the device registry 118 in association with the user account.In some implementations, there is a device registry for controllabledevices 106 and a device registry for voice-activated devices 104. Thecontrollable devices registry may reference devices in thevoice-activated devices registry that are associated in the user domain,and vice versa.

In some implementations, one or more of the voice-activated devices 104(and one or more cast devices) and one or more of the controllabledevices 106 are commissioned to the voice assistant service 140 via aclient device 103. In some implementations, the voice-activated device104 does not include any display screen, and relies on the client device103 to provide a user interface during a commissioning process, andsimilarly for a controllable device 106 as well. Specifically, theclient device 103 is installed with an application that enables a userinterface to facilitate commissioning of a new voice-activated device104 and/or a controllable device 106 disposed in proximity to the clientdevice. A user may send a request on the user interface of the clientdevice 103 to initiate a commissioning process for the new electronicdevice 104/106 that needs to be commissioned. After receiving thecommissioning request, the client device 103 establishes a short rangecommunication link with the new electronic device 104/103 that needs tobe commissioned. Optionally, the short range communication link isestablished based near field communication (NFC), Bluetooth, BluetoothLow Energy (BLE) and the like. The client device 103 then conveyswireless configuration data associated with a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) (e.g., local network 108) to the new or electronic device104/106. The wireless configuration data includes at least a WLANsecurity code (i.e., service set identifier (SSID) password), andoptionally includes a SSID, an Internet protocol (IP) address, proxyconfiguration and gateway configuration. After receiving the wirelessconfiguration data via the short range communication link, the newelectronic device 104/106 decodes and recovers the wirelessconfiguration data, and joins the WLAN based on the wirelessconfiguration data.

In some implementations, additional user domain information is enteredon the user interface displayed on the client device 103, and used tolink the new electronic device 104/106 to an account in a user domain.Optionally, the additional user domain information is conveyed to thenew electronic device 104/106 in conjunction with the wirelesscommunication data via the short range communication link. Optionally,the additional user domain information is conveyed to the new electronicdevice 104/106 via the WLAN after the new device has joined the WLAN.

Once the electronic device 104/106 has been commissioned into the userdomain, other devices and their associated activities may be controlledvia multiple control paths. In accordance with one control path, anapplication installed on the client device 103 is used to control theother device and its associated activities (e.g., media playactivities). Alternatively, in accordance with another control path, theelectronic device 104/106 is used to enable eyes-free and hands-freecontrol of the other device and its associated activities.

In some implementations, voice-activated devices 104 and controllabledevices 106 may be assigned nicknames by a user (e.g., by the primaryuser with whom the devices are associated in the user domain). Forexample, a speaker device in the living room may be assigned a nickname“living room speaker.” In this way, the user may more easily refer to adevice in a voice input by speaking the device's nickname. In someimplementations, the device nicknames and mappings to correspondingdevices are stored at a voice-activated device 104 (which would storethe nicknames of just the devices associated with the same user as thevoice-activated device) and/or the voice assistance server system 112(which would store deice nicknames of devices associated with differentusers). For example, the voice assistance server system 112 stores manydevice nicknames and mappings across different devices and users, andvoice-activated devices 104 associated with a particular user downloadnicknames and mappings for devices associated with the particular userfor local storage.

In some implementations, a user may group one or more of thevoice-activated devices 104 and/or controllable devices 106 into a groupof devices created by the user. The group may be given a name, and thegroup of devices may be referred by the group name, similarly toreferring to individual devices by nickname. Similarly to devicenicknames, device groups and group names may be stored at avoice-activated device 104 and/or the voice assistance server system112.

A voice input from the user may explicitly specify a target controllabledevice 106 or a target group of devices for the request in the voiceinput. For example, a user may utter a voice input “play classical musicon the living room speaker.” The target device in the voice input is“living room speaker”; the request in the voice input is a request tohave the “living room speaker” play classical music. As another example,a user may utter a voice input “play classical music on the housespeakers,” where “house speakers” is a name of a group of devices. Thetarget device group in the voice input is “house speakers”; the requestin the voice input is a request to have the devices in the group “housespeakers” play classical music.

A voice input from the user may not have an explicit specification of atarget device or device group; a reference to a target device or devicegroup by name is absent in the voice input. For example, following onthe example voice input “play classical music on the living roomspeaker” above, the user may utter a subsequent voice input “pause.” Thevoice input does not include a target device specification for therequest for a pause operation. In some implementations, the targetdevice specification in the voice input may be ambiguous. For example,the user may have uttered the device name incompletely. In someimplementations, a target device or device group may be assigned to thevoice input where an explicit target device specification is absent orthe target device specification is ambiguous, as described below.

In some implementations, when a voice-activated device 104 receives avoice input with an explicit specification of a target device or devicegroup, the voice-activated device 104 establishes a focus session withrespect to the specified target device or device group. In someimplementations, the voice-activated device 104 stores, for the focussession, a session start time (e.g., the timestamp of the voice inputbased on which the focus session was started) and, as the in-focusdevice for the focus session, the specified target device or devicegroup. In some implementations, the voice-activated device 104 also logssubsequent voice inputs in the focus session. The voice-activated device104 logs at least the most recent voice input in the focus session andoptionally logs and retains preceding voice inputs within the focussession as well. In some implementations, the voice assistance serversystem 112 establishes the focus session. In some implementations, thefocus session may be ended by a voice input explicitly specifying adifferent target device or device group.

While a focus session with respect to a device is active and thevoice-activated device receives a voice input, the voice-activateddevice 104 makes one or more determinations with respect to the voiceinput. In some implementations, the determinations include: whether thevoice inputs includes an explicit target device specification, whetherthe request in the voice input is one that can be fulfilled by thein-focus device, and a time of the voice input compared to the time ofthe last voice input in the focus session and/or the session start time.If the voice input does not include an explicit target devicespecification, includes a request that can be fulfilled by the in-focusdevice, and satisfies predefined time criteria with respect to the timeof the last voice input in the focus session and/or the session starttime, then the in-focus device is assigned as the target device for thevoice input. Further details regarding focus sessions are describedbelow.

Devices in the Operating Environment

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example voice-activatedelectronic device 104 that is applied as a voice interface to collectuser voice commands in an operating environment (e.g., operatingenvironment 100) in accordance with some implementations. Thevoice-activated device 104, typically, includes one or more processingunits (CPUs) 202, one or more network interfaces 204, memory 206, andone or more communication buses 208 for interconnecting these components(sometimes called a chipset). The voice-activated device 104 includesone or more input devices 210 that facilitate user input, such as abutton 212, one or more touch sensors 214, and one or more microphones216. The voice-activated device 104 also includes one or more outputdevices 218, including one or more speakers 220, optionally an array ofLEDs 222, and optionally a display 224. In some implementations, thearray of LEDs 222 is an array of full color LEDs. In someimplementations, a voice-activated device 104, depending on the type ofdevice, has either the array of LEDs 222, or the display 224, or both.In some implementations, the voice-activated device 104 also includes alocation detection device 226 (e.g., a GPS module) and one or moresensors 228 (e.g., accelerometer, gyroscope, light sensor, etc.).

In some implementations, the one or more touch sensors 214 includes aplurality of sensor electrodes that are disposed in proximity todifferent areas of an interior surface of a housing of thevoice-activated electronic device 104. Each of the different areas ofthe interior surface corresponds to a respective area of an exteriorsurface of the housing of the housing of the voice-activated electronicdevice 104. Each sensor electrode corresponding to a respective area ofthe interior surface is configured to provide an electrical signal thatvaries in response to a touch event occurring to the respective area ofthe exterior surface of the housing. In an example, a first sensorelectrode is disposed under a top area of the interior surface of thehousing, and two additional sensor electrodes are disposed under twooff-center areas that are located on two opposite sides of the top areaof the interior surface of the housing. Each sensor electrode forms acapacitive sensor with reference to a ground of the electronic device104, and enables a capacitive sensing signal that varies in response tothe touch event on the respective area of the exterior surface of thehousing.

Memory 206 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM,DDR RAM, or other random access solid state memory devices; and,optionally, includes non-volatile memory, such as one or more magneticdisk storage devices, one or more optical disk storage devices, one ormore flash memory devices, or one or more other non-volatile solid statestorage devices. Memory 206, optionally, includes one or more storagedevices remotely located from one or more processing units 202. Memory206, or alternatively the non-volatile memory within memory 206,includes a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. In someimplementations, memory 206, or the non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of memory 206, stores the following programs, modules,and data structures, or a subset or superset thereof:

Operating system 232 including procedures for handling various basicsystem services and for performing hardware dependent tasks;

Network communication module 234 for connecting the voice-activateddevice 104 to other devices (e.g., the voice assistance service 140, oneor more controllable devices 106, one or more client devices 103, andother voice-activated device(s) 104) via one or more network interfaces204 (wired or wireless) and one or more networks 110, such as theInternet, other wide area networks, local area networks (e.g., localnetwork 108), metropolitan area networks, and so on;

Input/output control module 236 for receiving inputs via one or moreinput devices and enabling presentation of information at thevoice-activated device 104 via one or more output devices 218,including:

-   Voice processing module 238 for processing audio inputs or voice    messages collected in an environment surrounding the voice-activated    device 104, or preparing the collected audio inputs or voice    messages for processing at a voice assistance server system 112;-   LED control module 240 for generating visual patterns on the LEDs    222 according to device states of the voice-activated device 104;    and-   Touch sense module 242 for sensing touch events on a top surface    (e.g., via the one or more touch sensors 214) of the voice-activated    device 104;

Voice activated device data 244 for storing at least data associatedwith the voice-activated device 104, including:

-   Voice device settings 246 for storing information associated with    the voice-activated device 104 itself, including common device    settings (e.g., service tier, device model, storage capacity,    processing capabilities, communication capabilities, etc.),    information of one or more user accounts in a user domain, device    nicknames and device groups, settings regarding restrictions when    dealing with a non-registered user, and display specifications    associated with one or more visual patterns displayed by the LEDs    222; and-   Voice control data 248 for storing audio signals, voice messages,    response messages and other data related to voice interface    functions of the voice-activated device 104;

Response module 250 for performing instructions included in voicerequest responses generated by the voice assistance server system 112,and in some implementations, generating responses to certain voiceinputs; and

Focus session module 252 for establishing, managing, and ending focussessions with respect to devices.

In some implementations, the voice processing module 238 includes thefollowing modules (not shown):

User identification module for identifying and disambiguating users whoprovide voice inputs to the voice-activated device 104;

Hotword recognition module for determining whether voice inputs includea hotword for waking up the voice-activated device 104 and recognizingsuch in the voice inputs; and

Request recognition module for determining a user request included in avoice input.

In some implementations, memory 206 also stores focus session data 254for an outstanding focus session, including the following:

Session in-focus device(s) 256 for storing an identifier of the deviceor device group in focus in an outstanding focus session (e.g., thedevice nickname, the device group name, MAC address(es) of thedevice(s));

Session start time 258 for storing a timestamp for the start of theoutstanding focus session; and

Session command history 260 for storing a log of prior requests orcommands in the focus session, including at least the most recentrequest/command. The log includes at least the timestamp(s) of thelogged prior request(s)/command(s).

Each of the above identified elements may be stored in one or more ofthe previously mentioned memory devices, and corresponds to a set ofinstructions for performing a function described above. The aboveidentified modules or programs (i.e., sets of instructions) need not beimplemented as separate software programs, procedures, modules or datastructures, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined orotherwise re-arranged in various implementations. In someimplementations, memory 206, optionally, stores a subset of the modulesand data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory 206,optionally, stores additional modules and data structures not describedabove. In some implementations, a subset of the programs, modules,and/or data stored in the memory 206 can be stored on and/or executed bythe voice assistance server system 112.

In some implementations, one or more of the modules in memory 206described above are part of a voice processing library of modules. Thevoice processing library may be implemented and embedded on a widevariety of devices. An example of a voice processing library isdescribed in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/334,434,entitled “Implementations for Voice Assistant on Devices,” filed May 10,2016, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

It is noted that in some implementations, the one or more touch sensors214 are electrically coupled to a touch sensing circuit that arephysically disposed on and supported by a PCB on which the CPUs 202 aremounted. Each of the one or more touch sensors 214 includes a sensingportion and a contact portion extending from the sensing portion. Whilethe sensing portion is placed in proximity to the interior surface ofthe housing to facilitate detection of a touch on a corresponding areaof the exterior surface of the housing, the contact portion of eachtouch sensor is bent to bridge the sensing portion to a conductive areaon the PCB, thereby providing an electrical path to electrically couplethe sensing portion to the touch sensing circuit disposed on the PCB.

Physical Design for a Compact Home Assistant

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a front view and a rear view of an examplevoice-activated electronic device 104 in accordance with someimplementations, respectively. The electronic device 104 includes anoverall exterior (also called a housing) including an upper portion 306and a base portion 308 coupled to the upper portion 306. Optionally, theoverall exterior of the electronic device 104 is radially symmetricabout an axis that passes through centers of the upper and base portions306 and 308. In some implementations, at least a portion of the baseportion 308 (e.g., a bottom surface 309) is flattened to enable theelectronic device 104 to sit securely on a flat surface. The electronicdevice 104 is compact and fits naturally in many areas of a home.

The electronic device 104 further includes electronic components and oneor more speakers contained within the overall exterior. For example, theelectronic device 104 includes one or more microphones 216 andoptionally includes an array of full color LEDs (not shown). The fullcolor LEDs (e.g., LEDs 222 in FIG. 2) could be hidden under a topsurface of the electronic device 104 and invisible to the user when theyare not lit. The rear side of the electronic device 104 optionallyincludes a power supply connector 310 configured to couple to a powersupply, and the front side optionally includes a power switch 312. Thatsaid, the base portion 308 has an opening that enables access to thepower supply connector 310, and the opening is optionally positionedadjacent to intersection between the upper portion 306 and the baseportion 308.

In some implementations, the electronic device 104 presents a clean lookhaving no visible button or a limited number of visible buttons, and theinteraction with the electronic device 104 is based on voice and touchgestures. In some implementations, when the electronic device 104includes a limited number of physical buttons, the interaction with theelectronic device 104 is further based on a press on the button inaddition to the voice and touch gestures. Optionally, one of thephysical buttons includes a power button that is disposed close tointersection between the first and second elements and configured toswitch on or off the electronic device 104.

In some implementations, a transition between the upper portion 306 andthe base portion 308 is substantially continuous, such that the overallexterior has a continuously rounded shape. The upper portion 306 of theelectronic device 104 has a circular cross section 314 defined by afirst radius. The upper portion 306 includes and extends past thecircular cross section 314, and the base portion 308 has a secondmaximum radius that is smaller than the first radius. Optionally, adiameter of the circular cross section of the electronic device 104 isgreater than a thickness of the electronic device 104. In someimplementations, the circular cross section 314 is approximately amiddle cross section of the electronic device 104 that divides theoverall exterior of the electronic device 104 into two halves havingsubstantially equal thicknesses. The first radius corresponding to themiddle cross section is optionally greater than a radius of any crosssection of the electronic device 104.

One or more speakers (not shown) are disposed and concealed in theelectronic device 104 and project sound through a porous wall of theoverall exterior to allow sound waves generated from the speaker topenetrate to the outside of the electronic device 104. In someimplementations, the upper portion 306 has a first exterior surfacecovering (e.g., the acoustically porous cover in FIG. 4), and the baseportion 308 has a second exterior surface covering different from thefirst exterior surface covering. The first exterior surface covering issubstantially acoustically transparent to allow sound generated by thespeakers to exit the electronic device 104. In an example, at least aportion of the upper portion 306 includes perforations (e.g., 410 inFIGS. 4 and 5) configured to enable transmission of sound out of theelectronic device 104. The perforations of the upper portion 306 iscovered by the first exterior surface covering, and the base portion 308does not include any perforations to allow sound to transmit out of theelectronic device 104.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of an example voice-activatedelectronic device 104 showing a dual purpose waveguide/heatsink 404(also called a waveguide 404) and a speaker assembly 406 in accordancewith some implementations. In some implementations, the electronicdevice 104 is a compact device that includes one or more speakers 406and a plurality of electronic components, including one or more of:microprocessors, memory, support chips, wireless receivers andtransmitters, antennas, power supply circuitry, one or more cameras,power and/or data connectors, touch sensing circuit, etc., some of whichare mounted on one or more printed circuit boards 402. The speakers(“speaker assembly”) 406 can be employed for any audio output purpose,including output of audible responses to user verbal inputs, playback ofaudio tracks of media content, and generation of audible alerts(including beeps, alarms, sirens, etc.). In some implementations, theone or more speakers 406 are mounted within the electronic device 104such that there is no direct path for transmission to the outside of thedevice of sound generated by the one or more speakers 406. In suchimplementations, in order to promote effective speaker operation(including effective transmission of sound output by the speaker 406 tothe outside of the device), an acoustic waveguide 404 is provided withinthe electronic device 104 to redirect sound output by the one or morespeakers 406 from the inside to the outside of the device.

In some implementations, the electronic device includes an upper portion306 that serves as a speaker grill that allows transmission of soundoutside the device from one or more speakers 406 contained within theelectronic device 104. In some implementations, the upperportion/speaker grill 306 can be configured with different surfacefinishes and/or can be securely but separably fastened to the baseportion 308 as described in provisional patent application 62/403,681,entitled “Voice-Activated Electronic Device Assembly with SeparableBase,” the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety. In some implementations, the acoustic waveguide 404 isconfigured to redirect the sound to a speaker grill provided at an outersurface of the overall exterior of the electronic device 104.

In some implementations, the acoustic waveguide 404 is also configuredto serve as a heatsink to dissipate to the outside of the electronicdevice heat generated by operation of the electronic components and ismounted in proximity to at least some of the electronic components(e.g., components mounted on the PCB 402, or the PCB 402).

In some implementations, the one more speakers 406 are mounted in a baseportion 308 (e.g., “bottom housing”) of the electronic device 104 andhave a primary sound projection direction that faces upwards within theelectronic device 104, towards a curved portion of the dual purposewaveguide/heatsink 404. The curved portion is designed to redirect soundfrom the one or more speakers 406 to the outside of the electronicdevice 104 (e.g., via perforations 410 on the upper portion 306). Heatgenerating electronic components and/or one or more printed circuitboards 402 carrying electronic components are attached directly to asecond portion of the dual purpose waveguide/heatsink 404 (or arecoupled indirectly thereto using a thermal conduction path) so as totransmit to the heatsink heat generated by operation of the electroniccomponents. The dual purpose waveguide/heatsink 404 is configured tomove to the outside of the electronic device heat transmitted theretofrom the attached electronic components. In some implementations, thedual purpose waveguide/heatsink 404 is made from materials that havehighly effective thermal conduction properties to promote movement ofheat from within the device to the outside of the device. In someimplementations, the curved portion is a bottom surface of the dualpurpose waveguide/heatsink 404 (e.g., a surface facing downwards towardsthe one or more speakers 406) and the second portion is an upper surfaceof the dual purpose waveguide/heatsink 404 that is opposite the bottomsurface of the dual purpose waveguide/heatsink 404 (e.g., a surfacefacing upwards to which the electronic components are attached). Othershapes and forms of the upper and lower portions of thewaveguide/heatsink 404 can be employed as would be apparent to oneskilled in the art.

In some implementations, positions of the electronic components and theone more speakers 406 are interchanged such that the one more speakers406 are located in an upper portion 306 of the electronic device 104 andproject downwards towards an upper (curved) surface of the dual purposewaveguide/heatsink 404 and the electronic components are mounted in abase portion 308 of the electronic device 104 and waveguide/heatsink 404is mounted in the base portion 308 (e.g., “bottom housing”).

In some implementations, the acoustic waveguide design channels soundfrom speaker 406 to desired output ports and thermally attached to thePCB 402 allowing the waveguide 404 to also function asheatsink/spreader. Wrapping the waveguide/heatsink 404 on the interiorof the housing allows for larger thermal mass and greater surface forthermal radiation. In some implementations, a cutout pattern on awrapped portion of the waveguide enhances thermal efficiency and allowssound to transmit out. In some implementations, during speaker function,sound waves also drives air over waveguide/heat sink 404 thus furtherenhancing thermal performance at time of greatest thermal generation.

In some implementations, the cone of the waveguide/heat sink redirectsthe sound from the up pointing speaker 406 to the side. Since the PCB402 is directly on top of the dual purpose waveguide/heatsink 404, it isalso used as a heat sink. The dual purpose waveguide/heatsink 404 shouldbe a highly thermally conductive material. In some implementations, awaveguide material of the dual purpose waveguide/heatsink 404 is ametal, (e.g., aluminum or copper), but the waveguide/heat sink 404 canalso be fashioned from materials other than metal.

The PCB 402 is arranged and concealed within the electronic device 104,and at least electrically coupled to the speaker assembly 406. Thatsaid, the PCB 402 includes one or more electronic components configuredto drive the speaker assembly 406, a power supply circuitry, and awireless transceiver configured to receive and transmit signals.Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, in some implementations, the base portion308 includes a power supply connector 310 configured to couple to anexternal power supply and the front side optionally includes a powerswitch 312, and the PCB is configured to receive power from the externalpower supply via the power supply connect 310.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of an example voice-activated electronicdevice 104 in accordance with some implementations. This shows aperforated upper portion 306, the dual purpose waveguide/heatsink 404,an assembly 502 combining a bottom portion of the waveguide 404 and thespeaker assembly 406, and the base portion 308. The upper portion 306includes perforations 410 on a peripheral wall to allow transmission ofsound waves generated by the speaker assembly 406 to exit the electronicdevice 104. Specifically, the dual purpose waveguide/heatsink 404 isprovided within the electronic device 104 to redirect sound output bythe one or more speakers 406 towards the perforations 410 located on theperipheral wall of the upper portion 306.

The dual purpose waveguide/heatsink 404 has a top surface 504, and a PCB402 is disposed on the top surface 504 of the waveguide 404. Referringto FIG. 4, the waveguide 404 has a waveguide periphery physicallyconfigured to fit into the rounded shape of the upper portion 306. Whenthe waveguide 404 physically fits into the upper portion 306, a space412 is formed between an upper interior surface of the upper portion 306and a top surface of the PCB 402. The space 412 is configured toaccommodate electronic components mounted onto the PCB 402. In someimplementation, one or more touch sensors 414 are coupled in proximityto the upper interior surface of the upper portion 306 to detect touchevents occurring to an upper exterior surface opposite the upperinterior surface. Each of the touch sensors 414 is configured to extendacross the space 412 to reach a respective conductive area of the PCB402 that is electrically coupled to a touch sensing circuit mounted ontothe PCB 402. In some implementations, the electronic device 104 includesa first sensor electrode and two additional sensor electrodes. The firstsensor electrode 414A is disposed under a top area of the interiorsurface of the upper portion 306, and the two additional sensorelectrodes 414B and 414C are disposed under two peripheral areas thatare located on two opposite sides of the top area of the interiorsurface of the upper portion 306. Each of the sensor electrodes414A-414C forms a respective capacitive sensor with reference to aground of the electronic device 104, and enables the touch sensingcircuit (specifically, a capacitive sense circuit) coupled onto the PCB402 to monitor a capacitive sensing signal that varies in response tothe touch events on a respective area of the exterior surface of theupper portion 306. More details on the touch sensors 414 are explainedbelow with reference to FIGS. 6, 7A-7G and 8A-8C.

Referring to FIG. 4, in some implementations, the electronic device 104further includes one or more microphones 416, and is configured toprovide a controlled sound path 420 to access each of the one or moremicrophones 416 via a respective microphone aperture 418 opened on theupper portion 306. Optionally, a microphone 416 is disposed on top ofthe PCB 402 (i.e., within the space 412), and coupled to the microphoneaperture 418 by a sound control structure. Optionally, a microphone 416is disposed beneath the PCB 402, and faces a second microphone aperture418′ formed on the PCB 402. The second microphone aperture 418′ isfurther coupled to the microphone aperture 418 by a sound controlstructure. By these means, the controlled sound path 420 can be formedto connect each microphone 416 to the corresponding microphone aperture418. In some implementations, an acoustically porous cover 422 isfurther used to wrap the upper portion 306 and conceal the microphoneaperture 418 thereon, and an adhesive is applied with the acousticallyporous cover 422 to extend the controlled sound path 420 further acrossthe acoustically porous cover 422. More details on the controlled soundpath 420 are explained below with reference to FIGS. 9A-9B and 10A-10C.

Dual Conductive Paths Coupling a Touch Sensor to a Circuit Board

FIG. 6 illustrates an upper interior surface 600 of an upper portion 306of an example voice-activated electronic device 104 in accordance withsome implementations. The upper interior surface 600 includes one ormore sensor areas where one or more touch sensors 414 are coupled. Insome implementations, the one or more sensor areas include a top sensorarea 602A where a first touch sensor 414A is coupled. In an example, thetop sensor area 602A has a circular shape and is concentric with a crosssection of the upper portion 306. In some implementations, the one ormore sensor areas further includes one or more peripheral sensor areas(e.g., 602B and 602C) where one or more additional touch sensors 414Band/or 414C are coupled. In this example, two additional sensorelectrodes 414B and 414C are disposed under two peripheral sensor areas602B and 602C that are located on two opposite sides of the top sensorarea 602A of the upper interior surface 600 of the upper portion 306.The top sensor 414A and the two additional sensors 414B and 414C areoptionally aligned with each other.

The first touch sensor 414A coupled to the first sensor area 602Aincludes a sensing portion 604A and a contact portion 606A extendingfrom the sensing portion 604A. The sensing portion 604A is substantiallyplanar. In some situations, when it is disposed in proximity to the topsensor area 602, the sensing portion 604A comes into contact with thetop sensor area 602. Alternatively, in some situations, when it isdisposed in proximity to the top sensor area 602, the sensing portion604A does not contact the top sensor area 602 directly, and a gapbetween the sensing portion 605 and the top sensor area 602 is less thana predetermined distance threshold (e.g., 1 mm) In some implementations,the sensing portion 604 and contact portion 606A of the first touchsensor 414A are made from a single sheet of conductive material (e.g.,stainless steel) and connected to each other at an intersection area608. The contact portion 606A is not planar and is bent with a firstaverage curvature. The first average curvature of the contact portion606A is greater than a second average curvature of the upper portion 306near the top sensor area 602, thereby allowing the contact portion 606Ato deflect away from the upper portion 306. In some implementations,both the sensing and contact portions are planar, but are folded to forman angle at the intersection 608.

In some implementations, the top sensor area 602A is physically coupledto an array of light guides 610 configured to guide light generated byLED indicators towards the upper interior surface 600 of the upperportion 306. Optionally, the upper interior surface 600 includes one ormore openings to allow the light guided to the upper interior surface600 to be visible to the outside. Optionally, at least part of the upperinterior surface 600 is partially transparent to the light guided to theupper interior surface 600. The light guides 610 rise above the topsensor area 602 by a height when they are affixed onto the top sensorarea 602. The sensing portion 604A of the first touch sensor 414A hasone or more cutout openings. When the first touch sensor 414A isdisposed in proximity to the first sensor area 602A, the one or morecutout openings of the sensing portion 604A is aligned with and surroundthe light guides 610, thereby allowing the first touch sensor 414 to beautomatically aligned with the first sensor area 602A.

Additionally, the upper interior surface 600 further includes a firstboss structure 612A disposed outside the first sensor area 602A. Whenthe first touch sensor 414A is automatically aligned with the firstsensor area 602A by the light guides 610, the contact portion 606Aextends towards the first boss structure 612A, i.e., the contact portion606A is automatically aligned with the first boss structure 612A.Specifically, the contact portion 606A includes an opening near its tiparea, and the opening of the contact portion 606A is automaticallyaligned with and is configured to receive the first boss structure 612Awhen the sensing portion 604 is disposed in proximity to the firstsensor area 602A. The contact portion 606A further includes a contactring defining its opening and a spring finger physically separated fromthe contact ring. Both the contact ring and the spring finger extends tothe first boss structure 612A or an area substantially close to thefirst boss structure 612A (e.g., less than 5 mm from the first bossstructure 612A).

Each additional touch sensor 414B coupled to a peripheral sensor area602B includes a sensing portion 604B and a contact portion 606Bextending from the sensing portion 604. The sensing portion 604B has ashape conformal to a shape of the upper interior surface 600 locally atthe peripheral sensor area 602B. When it is disposed in proximity to theperipheral sensor area 602B, the sensing portion 604B optionally comesinto contact with or has a substantially small gap with the top sensorarea 602B. The gap between the sensing portion 605 and the top sensorarea 602 is substantially small, i.e., less than the predetermineddistance threshold (e.g., 1 mm) In some implementations, the sensingportion 604B and contact portion 606B of the second touch sensor 414Aare made from a single sheet of conductive material. The contact portion606B is further bent with an average curvature greater than an averagecurvature of the upper portion 306 near the peripheral sensor area 602B,thereby allowing the contact portion 606B to deflect away from theinterior surface of the upper portion 306.

In some implementations, the peripheral sensor area 602B is physicallycoupled to a second light guide 614 configured to guide light generatedby an LED indicator towards the upper interior surface 600 of the upperportion 306. Optionally, the upper interior surface 600 includes one ormore openings or is partially transparent to allow the light guided tothe upper interior surface 600 to be visible to the outside. The secondlight guide 614 is affixed onto and rises from the peripheral sensorarea 602B. The sensing portion 604B of the additional touch sensor 414Bhas a cutout opening configured to align with and surround the secondlight guide 614, thereby allowing the additional touch sensor 414B to beautomatically aligned with the peripheral sensor area 602B. In someimplementations, a first visual pattern enabled by the one or more lightguides 610 indicates a voice processing status of the electronic device104. A second visual pattern enabled by the second light guide 614indicates a location of the corresponding touch sensor 414B, and isconfigured to guide a user of the electronic device 104 to touch on acorrect location for the purposes of activating one or morepredetermined functions (e.g., increasing a volume, decrease a volume).A third visual pattern enabled by a third light guide 616 indicates alocation of the corresponding touch sensor 414C, and has a similarfunction as that of the second visual pattern. Optionally, the secondand third visual patterns correspond to two predetermined functions(e.g., increasing and decreasing a volume) that are opposite to eachother.

Additionally, the upper interior surface 600 further includes a secondboss structure 612B disposed outside the peripheral sensor area 602B.When the additional touch sensor 414B is automatically aligned with theperipheral sensor area 602B by the second light guide 614, the contactportion 606B extends towards the second boss structure 612B, i.e., thecontact portion 606B is automatically aligned with the second bossstructure 612B.

In some implementations, the upper interior surface 600 of the upperportion 306 further includes a plurality of microphone apertures 418configured to let sound enter the housing of the electronic device 104and guide sound towards one or more microphones 416 disposed inside thehousing. Further, in some implementations, the upper interior surface600 includes one or more speaker grills (i.e., perforations 410) formedon a peripheral wall to allow transmission of sound waves generated by aspeaker assembly of the electronic device 104 to exit the housing of theelectronic device 104. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the electronicdevice 104 has two speaker grills separated by the two additional touchsensors 414B and 414C.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate an example touch sensor 414 configured to bedisposed in proximity to an upper interior surface 600 of avoice-activated electronic device 104 in accordance with someimplementations. FIG. 7C is an enlarged view of a contact portion 606 ofan example touch sensor 414 in accordance with some implementations. Thetouch sensor 414 includes a sensing portion 604 and a contact portion606 extending from the sensing portion 604. In this example, the sensingportion 604 is substantially planar, and is configured to be disposed inproximity to a substantially flat sensor area 602 (e.g., the top sensorarea 602A) of an upper interior surface 600 of a housing. When it isdisposed in proximity to the substantially flat sensor area 602, thesensing portion 604 comes into contact with the substantially flatsensor area 602 or is separated by a substantially small gap from thesubstantially flat sensor area 602. By these means, the sensing portionis configured to detect a touch on a corresponding area of an upperexterior surface 600 of the housing corresponding to the substantiallyflat sensor area 602 of the housing.

The sensing portion 604 of the first touch sensor 414 has one or morecutout openings 702. In some implementations, a first one 702A of theone or more cutout openings 702 receives an array of light guides 610that rises above the upper interior surface 600, when the touch sensor414 is disposed in proximity to the upper interior surface 600. A sizeof the first one of the one or more cutout openings 702 matches a sizeof the light guide array 610, such that when the array 610 fits in theopening 702A, the sensing portion 604 can be automatically aligned witha boss structure 612 fixed on the upper interior surface 600. The firstone of the one or more cutout openings 702 optionally has a shape thatis consistent with or distinct from a shape of the light guide array610. In some implementations, the one or more cutout openings 702includes a second opening 702B configured to align with an alignment pin704 fixed on a corresponding sensor area 602 of the upper interiorsurface 600. When the touch sensor 414 is assembled onto the electronicdevice 104, the alignment pin 704 is aligned with and rises out of thesecond opening 702B. In some implementations, the one or more cutoutopenings 702 includes one or more third openings 702C configured tofacilitate coupling the touch sensor 414 onto the upper interior surface600 of the upper portion 306 (e.g., affixing the touch sensor 414 ontothe upper interior surface 600). For example, a heat stake 728 isapplied onto each third opening 702C to hold the touch sensor 414 ontothe upper interior surface 600.

The contact portion 606 extends from an edge of the sensing portion 604,and has an opening 706 located near its tip area and a contact ring 708in which the opening 706 is defined. When the touch sensor 414 is sodisposed to allow the light guide array 610 or the alignment pipe 704 torise out of a corresponding opening 702, the opening 706 of the contactportion 606 is automatically aligned with the boss structure 612 fixedon the upper interior surface 600, and the boss structure 612 at leastpartially rises out of the opening 706 of the contact portion 606. In anexample, the boss structure 612 has a central shank 710 that ispartially recessed around its periphery to form a flat recessedperiphery 712. The central shank 710 further includes a screw hole 714.When the touch sensor 414 is coupled onto the upper interior surface600, the central shank 710 of the boss structure 612 rises out of theopening 706 of the contact portion 606, and the contact ring 708 of thecontact portion 606 sits on the flat recessed periphery 712 of the bossstructure 612.

In addition to the contact ring 708 and the opening 706, the contactportion 606 further includes a spring finger 716 physically separatedfrom the contact ring 708, while both the contact ring 708 and thespring finger 716 are configured to reach the flat recessed periphery712 of the boss structure 612 or nearby. In some implementations, thecontact portion 606 connects to the sensing portion 604 at anintersection area 608. The contact portion 606 further includes an arm718 that connects the intersection area 608 to the contact ring 708. Thearm 718 merges with the spring finger 716 at the intersection area 608or on the contact portion 606 (e.g., away from the intersection area608). The arm 718 has a first stiffness and a first bending curvaturewith respect to the sensing portion 604. The first stiffness is distinctfrom a second stiffness of the spring finger 716, and the first bendingcurvature is distinct from a second bending curvature of the springfinger 716. That said, if the first bending curvature of the arm 718represents the first average curvature of the contact portion 606, thespring finger 716 is bent out of a curved plane of the contact portion606 (e.g., resulting in a deviation of d at its tip area in FIG. 7B) anddeviated further away from a plane of the sensing portion 604 comparedwith the arm 718. In some implementations, the spring finger 716 isphysically modified to result in the second stiffness or the secondbending curvature of the spring finger 716. For example, the springfinger 716 may be bent with an angle at its intersection 732 with thearm 718. Alternatively, a thickness of the spring finger 716 may beadjusted at its intersection 732 with the arm 718, e.g., by placing oneor more beads on a rear end of the spring finger 716 near itsintersection 732 with the arm 718. It is noted that the intersection 732optionally overlaps or is located away from the intersection area 608.

It is noted that in some implementations, the contact ring 708 and a tiparea of the spring finger 716 are bent or flattened with respect tobodies of the arm 718 and the spring finger 716 according to a shape ofthe flat recessed periphery 712 of the boss structure 612, therebyconfiguring the contact ring 708 and the tip area of the spring finger716 to come into close contact with the flat recessed periphery 712. Ina natural state shown in FIG. 7B, the contact ring 708 comes intocontact with the flat recessed periphery 712 of the boss structure 612,and the spring finger 716 deflects from the arm 718 of the contactportion 606 and does not contact the flat recessed periphery 712.Further, in some implementations, the shank 710 of the boss structure612 has a rounded shape, and the opening 706 of the contact portion isoptionally circular or square, or has another shape in which the shank710 of the boss structure 612 can fit.

FIGS. 7D-1 and 7D-2 are example cross sections 730 and 730′ of avoice-activated electronic device 104 including a touch sensor shown inaccordance with some implementations, and FIG. 7F illustrates an examplePCB 402 having a receiving hole 722 and a conductive area 724 inaccordance with some implementations. After the touch sensor 414 iscoupled to an upper interior surface 600 of an upper portion 306, theupper portion 306 is further coupled to a PCB 402 via a fastener 720.The fastener 720 configured to be mechanically coupled to the bossstructure 612 of the upper portion 306. Specifically, the PCB 402 has afirst surface 402A and one or more receiving holes 722. The firstsurface 402A faces the upper interior surface 600 of the housing andincludes a conductive area 724 surrounding each receiving hole 722. Anopening 706 of the contact portion 606 of the touch sensor 414 and a theboss structure 612 are configured to be aligned with the receiving hole722 of the PCB 402. A central shank 710 of the boss structure 612 isconfigured to be received by both the opening 706 of the touch sensorand the receiving hole 722 of the PCB 402. When the fastener 720 iscoupled to the screw hole 714, both the PCB 402 and the contact ring 708of the touch sensor 414 are held between a flat recessed periphery 712of the buss structure 612 and a head of the fastener 720. Specifically,the PCB 402 is pushed by the fastener 720 to press onto the contact ring708 sitting on the flat recessed periphery 712. As a result, theconductive area 724 surrounding the receiving hole 722 of the PCB 402comes into contact with the contact ring 708, forming an electricallyconductive path between the touch sensor 414 and the PCB 402.

A spring finger 716 of the contact portion 606 is separated from an arm718 coupled to the contact ring 708 and has a bending curvature greaterthan that of the arm 718. In the natural state (FIG. 7B), the springfinger 716 deflects from the arm 718 of the contact portion 606 and doesnot contact the flat recessed periphery 712. When the fastener 720 isapplied to couple the PCB 402 to the boss structure 612, a tip area ofthe spring finger 716 touches the first surface 402A of the PCB 402 andcomes into contact with the conductive area 724 of the PCB 402. By thesemeans, the conductive area 724 surrounding the receiving hole 722 of thePCB 402 comes into contact with both the tip area of the spring finger716 and the contact ring 708 that are separable from each other, formingtwo separate conductive paths between the touch sensor 414 and the PCB402. Under some circumstances, the fastener 720 is loosened from theboss structure of the housing to cause the contact ring 708 to beelectrically decoupled from the conductive area 724 of the PCB 402,particularly because touches constantly occur on an exterior surface ofthe upper portion 306 corresponding to the touch sensor 414 for anextended duration of time. When the fastener 720 becomes loose, thecontact between the contact ring 708 and the conductive area 724 may becompromised (e.g., not consistent any more). The tip area of the springfinger 716 is configured to be controlled by a stiffness of the springfinger to contact the conductive area 724 of the PCB 402 and maintainits corresponding conductive path between the touch sensor 414 and thePCB 402 when the fastener 720 becomes loose.

Referring to FIG. 7D-1, the central shank 710 of the boss structure 612is configured to fit in both the opening 706 of the touch sensor 414 andthe receiving hole 722 of the PCB 402, and to mate to the fastener 720to couple the touch sensor 414 between the upper interior surface 600and the PCB 402. The receiving hole 722 of the PCB 402 is configured tohave a diameter less than a diameter of a head 720A of the fastener 720and greater than an outer diameter of the central shank 710 of the bossstructure 612 of the housing. Also, the opening 706 of the contactportion 606 of the touch sensor 414 is configured to have a diametergreater than an outer diameter of the central shank 710 of the bossstructure 612 of the housing and less than an outer diameter of theconductive area 724 of the PCB 402 and an outer diameter of the flatrecessed periphery 712.

Referring to FIG. 7D-1, in some implementations, the central shank 710of the boss structure 612 has a length that is shorter than a thicknessof the PCB 402. When the fastener 720 is fastened to the boss structure612, the boss structure 612 sits in the receiving hole 722 of the PCBand does not rise out of the receiving hole 722. Optionally, thereceiving hole 722 of the PCB 402 has a single diameter through itsentire thickness. Optionally, the receiving hole 722 of the PCB 402 hasa first diameter for a first portion of a thickness of the PCB and asecond diameter for a second portion of the thickness of the PCB. Thefirst diameter is less than a diameter of the head 720A of the fastener720 to block the head 720A of the fastener 720. Optionally, a diameterof the boss structure 612 is greater than the first diameter and lessthan the second diameter of the one of the receiving holes.

In some implementations, one or more of the conductive area 724 on thePCB 402, the contact ring 708 and the tip area of the spring finger 716is coated with a conductive material (e.g., gold, copper) having aresistivity lower than a resistivity threshold to improve contact of theconductive area 724 on the PCB 402 with the contact ring 708 or the tiparea of the spring finger 716.

In some implementations, when the fastener 720 is coupled tightly intothe screw hole of the boss structure 612 (FIG. 7D-1), each of thecontact ring 708 and the tip of the spring finger 716 is coupled betweenthe conductive area 724 of the PCB 402 and the fat recessed periphery712 of the boss structure 612, and remains in contact with both of them.When the fastener 720 is loosened from the boss structure 612 (FIG.7D-2), the contact ring 708 is physically and electrically decoupledfrom the conductive area 724 of the PCB 402. The tip area of the springfinger 716 is configured to be controlled by a stiffness of the springfinger 716 to contact the conductive area 724 of the PCB 402 andmaintain a corresponding conductive path between the touch sensor 414and the PCB 402. However, a shift of the PCB 402 caused by the loosefastener 720 is less than the deviation of d at the tip area of thespring finger 716 in FIG. 7B.

FIG. 7E is another example cross section 740 of a voice-activatedelectronic device 104 including a touch sensor shown in FIGS. 7A and 7Bin accordance with some implementations. In some implementations, afterthe touch sensor 414 is coupled to the upper interior surface 600, theupper portion 306 is further coupled to both the PCB 402 and thewaveguide 404 by the fastener 720. The fastener 720 is configured to bemechanically coupled to the boss structure 612. That said, the waveguide406 has a receiving hole aligned with the receiving hole 722 of the PCB402, the contact ring 708 and opening 706 of the touch sensor 414, andthe boss structure 612. When the fastener 720 is coupled to the screwhole 714 of the boss structure 612, the waveguide 404 is tightly heldbetween the flat recessed periphery 712 and the head 720A of thefastener 720 with the contact ring 708 of the touch sensor 414 an thePCB 402. In some implementations, the central shank 710 of the bossstructure 612 has a length that is longer than the thickness of the PCB402. When the fastener 720 is fastened to the boss structure 612, theboss structure 612 passes through the receiving hole 722 of the PCB andenters a receiving hole of the waveguide 404, but does not rise out ofthe receiving hole of the waveguide 404.

FIG. 7G is an example stress distribution diagram 750 of an exampletouch sensor 414 that is assembled in a voice-activated electronicdevice 104 (i.e., in a stressed state) shown in FIGS. 7D and 7E inaccordance with some implementations. In a natural state (FIG. 7B),before the PCB 402 is assembled, the contact ring 708 comes into contactwith the flat recessed periphery 712 of the boss structure 612, and thespring finger 716 deflects from the arm 718 of the contact portion 606and does not contact the flat recessed periphery 712. In a stressedstate, after the PCB 402 is assembled, the contact ring 708 is heldbetween the flat recessed periphery 712 of the boss structure 612 andthe first surface 402A of the PCB 402, forming electrically conductivepath between the touch sensor 414 and the PCB 402, and the spring finger716 also comes into contact with the conductive area 724 of the PCB 402and is pushed thereby to the arm 718 of the contact portion 606. Assuch, a stiffness and bending curvature of the spring finger in thenatural state are configured to create a force in a target force rangewhen the contact portion 606 is electrically coupled to thecorresponding conductive area 724 on the PCB 402 via the contact ring708 and the tip area of the spring finger 716. Referring to FIG. 7E,when both the spring finger 716 and the contact ring 708 areelectrically coupled to the conductive area 724 of the PCB 402 (i.e., ina stressed state), the spring finger 716 is stressed to adopt acurvature of the arm 718 and has a plurality of stress points 726 (e.g.,points 726A and 726B at an intersection where the spring finger 716starts, points 726C and 726D on two edges of the spring finger 716).

FIG. 8A illustrates another example touch sensor 414 disposed inproximity to an upper interior surface 600 of a voice-activatedelectronic device 104 in accordance with some implementations. Morespecifically, the touch sensor 414 is disposed next to a peripheral wallof the upper portion 306 of the electronic device 104. FIG. 8B is across sectional view 820 of a voice-activated electronic device 104including a touch sensor 414 shown in FIG. 8A in accordance with someimplementations. FIG. 8C is an example stress distribution diagram 850of an example touch sensor 414 that is assembled in a voice-activatedelectronic device 104 (i.e., in a stressed state) shown in FIG. 8B inaccordance with some implementations. The touch sensor 414 includes asensing portion 604 and a contact portion 606 extending from the sensingportion 604. In this example, the sensing portion 604 has a planar ornon-planar shape that is conformal to a shape of the upper interiorsurface 600 locally at a peripheral sensor area 602. When it is disposedin proximity to the peripheral sensor area 602, the sensing portion 604comes into contact with the peripheral sensor area 602 or is separatedby a substantially small gap from the peripheral sensor area 602. Assuch, the sensing portion 604 is configured to detect a touch on acorresponding area of an upper exterior surface of the housingcorresponding to the peripheral sensor area 602.

The sensing portion 604 of the touch sensor 414 has at least one cutoutopening 802 configured to receive a light guide 614. The light guide 616rises from the upper interior surface 600 when the touch sensor 414 isdisposed in proximity to the upper interior surface 600. A size of thecutout opening 802 matches a size of the light guide 614. When the lightguide 614 is coupled in the cutout opening 802, the sensing portion 604can be automatically aligned with a boss structure 612 fixed on theupper interior surface 600. The cutout opening 802 optionally has ashape that is consistent with or distinct from a shape of the lightguide 616. In some implementations, a plurality of LEDs are mounted onthe PCB 402. When the fastener 720 couples the PCB 402 to the bossstructure 612, the plurality of LEDs are automatically aligned with thelight guide array 610 and the light guides 614 and 616. Light generatedby these LEDs are guided to the upper interior surface 600 to be visibleto the outside. In some implementations, a first visual pattern enabledby the one or more light guides 610 indicates a voice processing statusof the electronic device 104. A second visual pattern enabled by thesecond light guide 614 indicates a location of the corresponding touchsensor 414, and is configured to guide a user of the electronic device104 to touch on a correct location for the purposes of activating one ormore predetermined functions (e.g., increasing a volume, decrease avolume).

Alternatively, in some implementations not shown in FIG. 8A, the lightguide 614 does not rise out of the opening 802 of the touch sensor 414.Rather, the light guide 616 is disposed in proximity and next to thetouch sensor 414, and is configured to receive light emitted by the LEDmounted on the PCB and provide illumination via an LED opening on thehousing to indicate the corresponding location on the exterior surfaceof the housing to which the touch sensor 414 is adjacent.

The contact portion 606 extends from an edge of the sensing portion 604,and has an opening 706 located near its tip area and a contact ring 708in which the opening 706 is defined. When the touch sensor 414 is sodisposed to allow the light guide 616 to rise out of a correspondingopening 802, the opening 706 of the contact portion 606 is automaticallyaligned with the boss structure 612 fixed on the upper interior surface600, and the boss structure 612 at least partially rises out of theopening 706 of the contact portion 606. The contact portion 606 furtherincludes a spring finger 716 physically separated from the contact ring708 and an arm 718 that connects to the contact ring 708. The springfinger 716 is bent out of a plane of the contact portion 606, anddeviated further away from a plane of the sensing portion 604 comparedwith the arm 718. Optionally, the arm 718 is substantially planar (i.e.,flat). In some implementations, the spring finger 716 is physicallymodified to result in the second stiffness or the second bendingcurvature of the spring finger 716. For example, the spring finger 716may be bent with an angle at its intersection with the arm 718.Alternatively, a thickness of the spring finger 716 may be adjusted atits intersection 732 with the arm 718, e.g., by placing one or morebeads on a rear end of the spring finger 716 near its intersection 732with the arm 718.

It is noted that in some implementations, the contact ring 708 and a tiparea of the spring finger 716 are bent or flattened with respect tobodies of the arm 718 and the spring finger 716 according to a shape ofthe flat recessed periphery 712 of the boss structure 612, therebyconfiguring the contact ring 708 and the tip area of the spring finger716 to come into close contact with the flat recessed periphery 712. Ina natural state shown in FIG. 8A, before the PCB 402 is assembled, thecontact ring 708 comes into contact with the flat recessed periphery 712of the boss structure 612, and the spring finger 716 deflects from thearm 718 of the contact portion 606 and does not contact the flatrecessed periphery 712. In a stressed state, after the PCB 402 isassembled, the contact ring 708 is held between the flat recessedperiphery 712 of the boss structure 612 and the first surface 402A ofthe PCB 402, forming electrically conductive path between the touchsensor 414 and the PCB 402, and the spring finger 716 also comes intocontact with the conductive area 724 of the PCB 402 and is pushedthereby to the arm 718 of the contact portion 606. Under somecircumstances, the fastener 720 is loosened from the boss structure 612to cause the contact ring 708 to be electrically decoupled from theconductive area 724 of the PCB 402. This often happens when touchesconstantly occur on an exterior surface of the upper portion 306corresponding to the touch sensor 414 for an extended duration of time.The tip area of the spring finger 716 is configured to be controlled bya stiffness of the spring finger 716 to contact the conductive area 724of the PCB 402 and maintain a corresponding conductive path between thetouch sensor 414 and the PCB 402.

In some implementations, the stiffness and bending curvature of thespring finger in the natural state are configured to create a force in atarget force range when the contact portion 606 is electrically coupledto the corresponding conductive area 724 on the PCB 402 via the contactring 708 and the tip area of the spring finger 716. Referring to FIG.8C, when both the spring finger 716 and the contact ring 708 areelectrically coupled to the conductive area 724 of the PCB 402 (i.e., ina stressed state), the spring finger 716 is stressed to adopt acurvature of the arm 718 and has a plurality of stress regions 804 nearan intersection 732 where the spring finger 716 starts to separate fromthe arm 718.

Controlled Sound Path Crossing an Acoustically Porous Cover

FIGS. 9A and 9B are a cross sectional view 900 and a top view 950 of aregion of a voice-activated electronic device 104 in which a microphone416 is disposed in accordance with some implementations, respectively.The electronic device 104 has a housing 902 and one or more microphones416 enclosed in the housing 902. The housing 902 has an exterior surface902A and a first microphone aperture 418. The microphone 416 has adiaphragm 904 facing the first microphone aperture 418. The diaphragm904 of the microphone 416 is configured to receive incoming sound viathe first microphone aperture 418, such that the microphone 416 canconvert the incoming sound to an electrical signal. Before theelectronic device 104 is shipped out of factory, at least part of theexterior surface of housing 902 (e.g., an upper portion 306) is wrappedby an acoustically porous cover 422 to provide a clean look. The firstmicrophone aperture 418 is therefore concealed by the acousticallyporous cover 422.

During the course of calibrating the microphone 416, a microphonetesting fixture 906 is disposed in contact with the acoustically porouscover 422 to deliver testing sound signals into the first microphoneaperture 418. The test sound signals cannot be delivered entirely intothe microphone, because part of the test sound signals are leaked froman edge at an interface of the microphone testing fixture 906 and theacoustically porous cover 422. Also, due to leakage at the edge of thisinterface, sound signals collected by the microphone 416 do not entirelycome from the microphone testing fixture 906. Noise signals in anambient enter the housing 902 via the edge and interfere with the testsounds signals provided by the microphone testing fixture 906. As such,the edge has to be substantially sealed at an interface of themicrophone testing fixture 906 and the acoustically porous cover 422 toprovide a desirable sound delivery efficiency without compromising theclean look of the electronic device 104.

In various implementations of this application, the exterior surface902A of the housing 902 includes a sealing area 908 surrounding but notincluding the first microphone aperture 418, and the acoustically porouscover 422 is affixed to the sealing area 908 of the exterior surface902A via an adhesive 910. The adhesive 910 covers the sealing area 908and permeates a thickness of the acoustically porous cover 422 above thesealing area, thereby enabling formation of a controlled sound path tothe microphone 416 by coupling of a microphone testing fixture 906 to aregion of the acoustically porous cover 422 corresponding to the sealingarea 908. In some implementations, the adhesive 910 is configured to beapplied on the sealing area 908 of the housing 902 and covered by theacoustically porous cover 422. The adhesive 910 permeates the thicknessof the acoustically porous cover 422 and is hardened in response to heattreatment under a predetermined condition. Preferably, the adhesive 910permeates part of the thickness of the acoustically porous cover 422,rather than an entire thickness, such that the adhesive is not visibleor felt by touch from the exterior surface of the acoustically porouscover 422. In some implementations, the acoustically porous cover 422 isflexible and substantially transparent to audible sound. Referring toFIG. 9B, in an example, the sealing area 908 includes a circular ringarea enclosing the first microphone aperture 418.

In some implementations, the sealing area 908 is defined according to ashape and a dimension of the microphone testing fixture 906. When themicrophone testing fixture 906 is disposed in contact with theacoustically porous cover 422, the acoustically porous cover 422 isdeformed, and the deformed cover 422 and the adhesive 910 are configuredto substantially cut off any leakage at the edge of the interface of themicrophone testing fixture 906 and the acoustically porous cover 422.That said, in an example, when the microphone testing fixture 906 iscoupled to the controlled sound path, a portion of sound generated bythe microphone testing fixture 906 is collected by the microphone 416.In accordance with desirable sound delivery efficiency, the portion ofsound is greater than a predetermined portion (e.g., 90%) of the soundgenerated by the microphone testing fixture 906. Alternatively, fromanother perspective, when the microphone testing fixture 906 is coupledto the controlled sound path, a portion of sound collected by themicrophone 416 comes from an ambient source other than the microphonetesting fixture 906. In accordance with desirable sound deliveryefficiency, the portion of sound is less than a predetermined portion(e.g., 20%) of the sound collected by the microphone 416.

In some implementations, the microphone 416 is disposed at apredetermined location with reference to the microphone testing fixture906 while the microphone testing fixture 906 is not pressed onto theexterior surface of the housing 902. The microphone testing fixture 906sweeps through frequencies in a tone range, and a first frequencyresponse is recorded at the microphone 416. The microphone testingfixture 906 is then pressed onto the first microphone aperture 418 ofthe housing 902. The microphone testing fixture 906 sweeps throughfrequencies in the tone range again, and a second frequency response isrecorded at the microphone 416. The second frequency response iscompared with the first frequency response to determine whether theinterface of the microphone testing fixture 906 and the acousticallyporous cover 422 (also called the cover-fixture interface) can provide adesirable sound delivery efficiency. In some implementation, adifference of the first and second frequency responses is greater than apredetermined attenuation threshold (e.g., 10 dB) to provide thedesirable sound delivery efficiency. A direct outcome of failing toprovide the desirable sound delivery efficiency is that the microphone416 cannot detect hotwords effectively (e.g., misses 50% of thehotwords) in a smart home environment where the electronic device 104 islocated.

In some implementations, a PCB 402 is enclosed in the housing 902 andhas a first surface 402A facing an interior surface 902A of the housing902, a second surface 402B opposing the first surface 402A, and a secondmicrophone aperture 418′ aligned with the first microphone aperture 418of the housing 902. The microphone 416 is coupled to the second surface402B of the PCB 402, and the diaphragm 904 of the microphone 416 facesthe second microphone aperture 418′ of the PCB 402 directly. Thediaphragm 904 of the microphone 416 is configured to receive sound viathe second microphone aperture 418′ of the PCB 402. A sound controlstructure 912 or 912′ is coupled to the interior surface of the housingand the first surface 402A of the PCB 402. The sound control structure912 or 912′ forms a sound channel connecting the first microphoneaperture 418 of the housing 902 and the second microphone aperture 418′of the PCB 402 and extending to the controlled sound path 420 thatpasses across the acoustically porous cover 422. Further, in someimplementations, the sound control structure 912 includes a hollowcylinder that is concentric with the sealing area 908 on the exteriorsurface 902A of the housing 902 and the controlled sound path 420 thatpasses across the acoustically porous cover 422.

Alternatively, in some implementations, the microphone 416 is disposedon the first surface 402A of the PCB 402 and faces the interior surfaceof the housing 902. The sound control structure 912 is coupled to theinterior surface of the housing 902 and the microphone 416, and forms asound channel connecting the first microphone aperture 418 of thehousing 902 and the microphone 416 and extending to the controlled soundpath 420 that passes across the acoustically porous cover 422.

FIGS. 10A-10C are enlarged cross sectional views of example microphoneaperture areas 1000, 1010 and 1020 of a voice-activated electronicdevice 104 in accordance with some implementations. In someimplementations, the adhesive 910 is configured to be applied on thesealing area 908 of the housing 902 and covered by the acousticallyporous cover 422. Preferably, the adhesive 910 permeates part of thethickness of the acoustically porous cover 422, rather than an entirethickness, such that the adhesive is not visible or felt by touch fromthe exterior surface of the acoustically porous cover 422. During thecourse of calibrating the microphone 416, the adhesive 910 permeates atleast a predetermined portion of the entire thickness of theacoustically porous cover 422, and the microphone testing fixture 906 isconfigured to be pressed onto the region of the acoustically porouscover 422 corresponding to the sealing area 908 to compressmicrocavities in part of the acoustically porous cover 422 that is notpermeated with the adhesive 910, thereby enabling formation of thecontrolled sound path 420 of the microphone 416.

Each of the microphone aperture areas 1000, 1010 and 1020 has arespective thickness of the acoustically porous cover 422 and arespective predetermined portion of the thickness of the cover 422. Theacoustically porous cover 422 made of a thicker textile/fabric demands alarger compression force from the microphone testing fixture 906 toproperly seal an interface between them. It is also desirable toincrease a thickness of the adhesive 910 (i.e., the respectivedetermined portion). The adhesive 910 is often transformed after beingapplied onto the sealing area 908, and the thickness of the adhesive 910should not exceed the thickness of the acoustically porous cover 422before or after the adhesive is transformed. If the thickness of theadhesive 910 exceeds the thickness of the acoustically porous cover 422prior to transformation, the adhesive 910 may leave a trace on theregion of the acoustically porous cover 422 corresponding to the sealingarea 908 after transformation, thereby compromising the clean look ofthe electronic device 104. If the thickness of the adhesive 910 exceedsthe thickness of the acoustically porous cover 422 after transformation,the adhesive 910 is visible and comprises the clean look of theelectronic device 104 directly. As such, the thickness of the adhesive910 is preferred to be increased to fill the fabric (i.e., themicrocavities in the fabric) of the acoustically porous cover 422 forimproving sealing of the cover-fixture interface while maintaining theclean look of the electronic device 104.

Referring to FIG. 10A, the acoustically porous cover 422 in themicrophone aperture area 1000 corresponds to a first type of fabricmaterial. The thickness of the acoustically porous cover 422 isapproximately equal to 0.5 mm, and the portion of the thickness filledwith the adhesive 910 is approximately equal to 0.075 mm. The microphoneaperture area 1000 passes a microphone seal test involving themicrophone testing fixture 906, and has a clean look from its exteriorsurface of the housing 902. That said, for the acoustically porous cover422 made of the first type of fabric material, a combination of a coverthickness of 0.5 mm and an adhesive thickness of 0.075 mm enables adesirable sound delivery efficiency while keeping the clean look of theelectronic device 104.

Referring to FIGS. 10B and 10C, the acoustically porous cover 422 in themicrophone aperture areas 1010 and 1020 corresponds to a second type offabric material that is distinct from the first type of material. In themicrophone aperture area 1010, the thickness of the acoustically porouscover 422 is approximately equal to 0.63 mm, and the portion of thethickness filled with the adhesive 910 is approximately equal to 0.1 mm.The microphone aperture area 1010 failed a microphone seal test, becausethe cover-fixture interface is leaky and the portion of sound collectedby the microphone 416 does not reach a predetermined portion (e.g., 90%)of sound generated by the microphone testing fixture 906. In contrast,in the microphone aperture area 1020, the thickness of the acousticallyporous cover 422 is approximately equal to 0.63 mm, and the portion ofthe thickness filled with the adhesive 910 is approximately equal to 0.2mm, allowing the microphone aperture area 1020 to pass the microphoneseal test. As such, for the acoustically porous cover 422 made of thesecond type of fabric material, a combination of a cover thickness of0.63 mm and an adhesive thickness of 0.2 mm (not 0.1 mm) enables adesirable sound delivery efficiency while keeping the clean look of theelectronic device 104.

The terminology used in the description of the various describedimplementations herein is for the purpose of describing particularimplementations only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in thedescription of the various described implementations and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as usedherein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations ofone or more of the associated listed items. It will be furtherunderstood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or“comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “if” is, optionally, construed to mean “when”or “upon” or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting”or “in accordance with a determination that,” depending on the context.Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated conditionor event] is detected” is, optionally, construed to mean “upondetermining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [thestated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the statedcondition or event]” or “in accordance with a determination that [astated condition or event] is detected,” depending on the context.

Although various drawings illustrate a number of logical stages in aparticular order, stages that are not order dependent may be reorderedand other stages may be combined or broken out. While some reordering orother groupings are specifically mentioned, others will be obvious tothose of ordinary skill in the art, so the ordering and groupingspresented herein are not an exhaustive list of alternatives. Moreover,it should be recognized that the stages can be implemented in hardware,firmware, software or any combination thereof.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific implementations. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the scope of the claims to the precise forms disclosed. Manymodifications and variations are possible in view of the aboveteachings. The implementations were chosen in order to best explain theprinciples underlying the claims and their practical applications, tothereby enable others skilled in the art to best use the implementationswith various modifications as are suited to the particular usescontemplated.

Clause 1. An electronic device, comprising:

-   a housing having an exterior surface and an aperture;-   a microphone enclosed in the housing and having a diaphragm, wherein    the diaphragm of the microphone faces the aperture and is configured    to receive sound via the aperture; and-   an acoustically porous cover at least partially covering the    exterior surface of the housing, wherein the acoustically porous    cover conceals the aperture of the housing;-   wherein the exterior surface of the housing includes a sealing area    surrounding but not including the aperture, and the acoustically    porous cover is affixed to the sealing area of the exterior surface    via an adhesive;-   wherein the adhesive covers the sealing area and permeates a    thickness of the acoustically porous cover above the sealing area,    thereby enabling formation of a controlled sound path to the    microphone by coupling of a microphone testing fixture to a region    of the acoustically porous cover corresponding to the sealing area.

Clause 2. The electronic device of clause 1, wherein the aperture of thehousing includes a first aperture, further comprising:

-   a printed circuit board (PCB) that is enclosed in the housing and    has a first surface facing an interior surface of the housing, a    second surface opposing the first surface, and a second aperture    aligned with the first aperture of the housing, wherein the    microphone is coupled to the second surface of the PCB, and the    diaphragm of the microphone faces the second aperture of the PCB    directly and is configured to receive sound via the second aperture    of the PCB; and-   a sound control structure coupled to the interior surface of the    housing and the first surface of the PCB, wherein the sound control    structure forms a sound channel connecting the first aperture of the    housing and the second aperture of the PCB and extending to the    controlled sound path that passes across the acoustically porous    cover.

Clause 3. The electronic device of clause 1 or 2, wherein the soundcontrol structure includes a hollow cylinder that is concentric with thesealing area on the exterior surface of the housing and the controlledsound path that passes across the acoustically porous cover.

Clause 4. The electronic device of any of the preceding clauses, whereinthe aperture of the housing includes a first aperture, furthercomprising:

-   a sound control structure coupled to the interior surface of the    housing and the microphone, wherein the sound control structure    forms a sound channel connecting the first aperture of the housing    and the microphone and extending to the controlled sound path that    passes across the acoustically porous cover.

Clause 5. The electronic device of clause 4, further comprising:

-   a printed circuit board (PCB) that is enclosed in the housing and    has a first surface facing an interior surface of the housing,    wherein the microphone is mounted on the first surface of the PCB,    and the diaphragm of the microphone faces the first aperture of the    housing directly.

Clause 6. The electronic device of any of the preceding clauses, whereinthe acoustically porous cover is flexible and substantially transparentto audible sound.

Clause 7. The electronic device of any of the preceding clauses,wherein:

-   the controlled sound path in the acoustically porous cover is    configured to match a dimension of the microphone testing fixture    and guide sound generated by the microphone towards the microphone    testing fixture;-   when the microphone testing fixture is coupled to the controlled    sound path, a portion of sound generated by the microphone testing    fixture is collected by the microphone; and-   the portion of sound is greater than a predetermined portion of the    sound generated by the microphone testing fixture.

Clause 8. The electronic device of any of the preceding clauses, whereinthe adhesive is not visible from an external surface of the acousticallyporous cover.

Clause 9. The electronic device of any of the preceding clauses, whereinthe adhesive is configured to be applied on the sealing area of thehousing and covered by the acoustically porous cover, and the adhesivepermeates the thickness of the acoustically porous cover and is hardenedin response to heat treatment under a predetermined condition.

Clause 10. The electronic device of any of the preceding clauses,wherein the adhesive permeates at least a predetermined portion of anentire thickness of the acoustically porous cover, and the microphonetesting fixture is configured to be pressed onto the region of theacoustically porous cover to compress microholes in part of the entirethickness of the acoustically porous cover that is not permeated withthe adhesive, thereby enabling formation of the controlled sound path ofthe microphone.

Clause 11. The electronic device of any of the preceding clauses,wherein the sealing area includes a circular ring area.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device, comprising: a housinghaving an interior surface and an exterior surface opposing the interiorsurface; a printed circuit board (PCB) having a first surface and areceiving hole, the first surface including a conductive areasurrounding the receiving hole; and a touch sensor: coupled between thehousing and the PCB; including a sensing portion and a contact portionextending from the sensing portion, the sensing portion: placed inproximity to the interior surface of the housing; configured to detect atouch on a corresponding area of the exterior surface of the housing;and the contact portion: including a first contact and a spring fingerphysically separated from the first contact, the first contact or thespring finger configured to electrically contact the conductive area onthe PCB.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the housingfurther comprises a boss structure coupled on the interior surface;wherein the first contact defines a plane; wherein the spring fingerextends from the contact portion beyond the plane of the first contactand towards the PCB; and wherein a tip area of the spring finger isconfigured to be controlled by a stiffness of the spring finger tocontact the conductive area of the PCB when the first contact iselectrically coupled to the conductive area of the PCB by a fastenercoupled to the boss structure of the housing.
 3. The electronic deviceof claim 2, wherein the tip area of the spring finger is configured tobe controlled by the stiffness of the spring finger to contact theconductive area of the PCB when the fastener is loosened from the bossstructure of the housing to cause the first contact to be electricallydecoupled from the conductive area of the PCB.
 4. The electronic deviceof claim 1, wherein: the sensing portion and the contact portion aremade from a single sheet of conductive material; and the sensing portionand the contact portion are connected to each other at an intersectionarea.
 5. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the contact portionfurther includes an arm that connects the intersection area to the firstcontact, the arm merges with the spring finger at the intersection area,the arm has a first stiffness and a first bending curvature with respectto the sensing portion, the first stiffness being distinct from a secondstiffness of the spring finger, and the first bending curvature beingdistinct from a second bending curvature of the spring finger.
 6. Theelectronic device of claim 5, wherein the second stiffness and secondbending curvature of the spring finger are configured to create a forcein a target force range when the contact portion is electrically coupledto the conductive area of the PCB via the first contact and a tip areaof the spring finger.
 7. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein thespring finger is physically modified to result in the second stiffnessof the spring finger.
 8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein thetouch sensor is configured to bridge the housing and the PCB, and thecontact portion of the touch sensor is mechanically bent from thesensing portion of the touch sensor that is placed in proximity to theinterior surface of the housing to reach the conductive area of the PCB.9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein: the touch sensor includesa capacitive electrode that forms a capacitive touch sensor with aground of the electronic device; the PCB includes a capacitive sensecircuit that is electrically coupled to the capacitive electrode via theconductive area of the PCB; and the capacitive sense circuit isconfigured to measure a capacitive sense signal of the capacitive touchsensor and determine a touch on the corresponding area of the exteriorsurface of the housing based on the measured capacitive sense signal.10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the housing furthercomprises a boss structure coupled on the interior surface, and whereinthe contact portion includes an opening aligned with the receiving holeof the PCB and the boss structure of the housing.
 11. The electronicdevice of claim 10, wherein the opening is defined in the first contact.12. The electronic device of claim 11, further comprising: a fastener,the fastener configured to extend through the opening defined in thefirst contact, through the receiving hole of the PCB, and into the bossstructure, coupling the fastener to the boss structure of the housingand electrically coupling the first contact to the conductive area ofthe PCB.
 13. A touch sensor comprising: a sensing portion, the sensingportion operable to detect a touch; and a contact portion, the contactportion extending from the sensing portion, the contact portioncomprising: a contact ring operable to electrically contact a firstprinted circuit board (PCB) conductive area; and a spring finger, thespring finger operable to electrically contact a second PCB conductivearea, the spring finger physically separated from the contact ring. 14.The touch sensor of claim 13, wherein the sensing portion issubstantially planar, defining a plane, and the contact portion extendsaway from the plane of the sensing portion.
 15. The touch sensor ofclaim 13, wherein the sensing portion and the contact portion are formedfrom a single sheet of conductive material.
 16. The touch sensor ofclaim 15, wherein: the sensing portion is substantially planar, defininga plane; the sensing portion and the contact portion are connectedtogether at an intersection area; and the single sheet of conductivematerial is folded to form an angle at the intersection.
 17. The touchsensor of claim 13, wherein the first PCB conductive area and the secondPCB conductive area are electrically connected.
 18. The touch sensor ofclaim 13, further comprising a PCB, wherein the PCB comprises a firstPCB and a second PCB, wherein the first PCB conductive area is locatedon the first PCB, wherein the second PCB conductive area is located onthe second PCB, and wherein the first and second PCB conductive areasare electrically connected.
 19. The touch sensor of claim 13, furthercomprising: a PCB, the PCB further comprising: a receiving hole definedthrough the PCB; and a first surface, the first surface comprising thefirst PCB conductive area, wherein the first PCB conductive areasurrounds the receiving hole; and a housing operable to receive the PCB,the housing comprising: an interior surface; an exterior surfaceopposing the interior surface; and at least one boss structure coupledon the interior surface, wherein the sensing portion and the contactportion are operable to electrically couple the housing and the PCB, andwherein the touch detected by the sensing portion is a touch on theexterior surface of the housing.
 20. The touch sensor of claim 13,further comprising: a PCB, the PCB further comprising a first surface,the first surface comprising the first PCB conductive area, wherein thecontact ring defines a plane, wherein the spring finger extends from thecontact portion beyond the plane of the contact ring and towards thePCB, and wherein a tip area of the spring finger is operable to becontrolled by a stiffness of the spring finger to contact the first PCBconductive area when the contact ring is electrically coupled to thefirst PCB conductive area.